Found & Revisited
by A Who Down in Whoville
Summary: Jackie insists upon seeing John and Jane Smith get married in 1963. On the way back home, the TARDIS takes a wrong turn, stranding newly pregnant Rose, a very edgy Doctor, and a very angry Jackie in 1963 London. Immediately follows Found & Forgotten. Jack, Bess, Niles, Jackie. NOTE RATING CHANGE TO M.
1. Back from the Past

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 1**

This story immediately follows Chapter 30 of Found & Forgotten, a re-imagining of Human Nature/Family of Blood set in 1963 London.

February 14, 2007

It was a little after five o'clock in the afternoon and the light in the flat was now dim. The grey concrete building across the courtyard was blocking the weak winter rays of the setting sun, and none of the three people in the room had bothered to turn on a lamp. For the past three hours, the Doctor and Rose had taken turns telling the tale of their earthbound adventure in 1963 London.

As the Doctor concluded the account of the short and brilliant lives of John and Jane Smith, Jackie dabbed her eyes with a tissue.

" . . . and so we opened the fob watches, and said goodbye to John and Jane." He barely whispered the words.

"And them Blood Family things? What happened ta them?" Jackie asked, her voice cracking with emotion.

"I . . . I made sure they would never harm anyone else ever again." The Doctor held Rose's hand tightly. There had been some history that they had left out. They didn't tell Jackie the full extent of Daniel Higgins's obsession with Jane, specifically that her daughter had been kidnapped and drugged by the villain.

"Well I don't rightly know what to say." Jackie was uncharacteristically quiet. "What woulda happened if you didn't open them watches, like John didn't wanna do?"

"If the Family hadn't have found us, then we would have simply lived out our lives. Woulda written books, probably moved out of London." He turned and looked at Rose lovingly. "Had a family."

"Jane and John both wanted lots of children." Rose sighed heavily, remembering the shared vision of their future. Their firstborn was to have been named John David, Jr. Twins would have come a few years later, Elisabeth Rose and Ian Jack.

"What's wrong Swee'hear?" Jackie asked kindly, seeing the wistful look on her daughter's face.

"I was just remembering something." Rose looked down at her lap, and then back at the Doctor. _"Ready to tell her?"_ she asked her husband silently.

_"Yep,"_ he replied, raising his eyebrows and blowing air through his lips.

"There's one more thing we haven't told you yet. Something that happened to us when we were . . . them." Rose spoke quietly. "Um, well, they wanted children right away, and Jane and John never, um . . . took any precautions to prevent pregnancy and, well, Mum, we're going to have a baby. I'm pregnant."

Jackie's mouth fell open, and her eyes snapped wide open. "Wot?"

"You know, progeny, offspring, a baby." The Doctor's smile couldn't have been brighter.

"But you said that they weren't . . . _that way_ before they were married! They were married, what, a whole twenty-four hours?" Jackie" screeched. "How long has it been since, well, you know," she inclined her head and made a snicking sound with her mouth and winked.

"Thirty-one hours, twenty-nine minutes and seventeen seconds," the Doctor cheerfully replied.

Rose grimaced, groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"But . . . but . . . how is that even possible?" asked Jackie.

"It only takes once, Jackie," the Doctor said with the slightest hint of condescension.

Rose sputtered a laugh. _"Once? Try four times." _

The Doctor smiled knowingly and waggled his eyebrows.

"I know that, I'm not stupid," Jackie replied hotly. "What about my Rose? Is she going to be alright? Is this dangerous for her? You're not human, you're a space thing. What about the baby? Is it a boy or is it a girl?" Jackie paused. "Will the baby have, you know, tentacles?"

"Well first of all, I am not a space _thing. _Second, I was fully human when I fathered our child. Third," he sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I don't—"

"He doesn't have tentacles, Mum," Rose interrupted with a giggle. "But he does have-"

The Doctor elbowed Rose in the ribs. "Fourth, when we opened the watches, my real self which had been housed within said watch sensed that my genetic material had been," he cleared his throat, "disseminated. It sought itself out and transformed the genetic code now inside of Rose to match mine, as I am _now_. Rose and I are fully compatible, Jackie. There is no danger. I promise."

"And Mum, you know I'm different now, remember?" Rose added.

"How could I forget that," Jackie replied wistfully. "Oh come here you two!" Jackie jumped up and hugged both of them. "I can hardly wait to tell Bev! My baby's having a baby!"

"You're taking this better than we thought you would," Rose replied once Jackie had released them from her embrace.

"Scoot over, come on." Jackie sat down next to Rose. "Why wouldn't I be happy? I've had enough time to get used to the idea that my Rose is married to an alien, ya know. And of course I want grandbabies!"

The Doctor's curiosity was starting to get the better of him, and he decided to test the waters. "Jackie, how many times have Rose and I visited you?"

"Well, let's see. No specifics, right?"

"No specifics," he confirmed.

"First few times happened while Rose was in hiding. Then of course, there was the blessed day that the two of you brought my girl back to me," Jackie said lovingly. "And no, I will not tell you who, what, where, why or when that happens for! So don't even ask!"

"So you did read my instructions," the Doctor said, surprised.

"Oh, don't act so surprised, mister, I understand all about corrupting timelines and all that rot. I've been lectured on it enough for the past four months!" she replied hotly.

"_We_ brought _me_ back here from wherever I was hiding last year?" Rose asked, surprised.

"Yeah, and you were dressed up like a right tart, young lady! You told me it was a disguise, but you coulda disguised yourself as a Salvation Army worker or a nun or somethin'," said Jackie.

"Jackie . . . " the Doctor drawled a warning, "that counts as _what_."

"Alright, alright, no need to be rude. I'll stop. You was the one who was askin'."

The trio sat quietly for a few minutes.

"Doctor, I'm craving Indian food. I wonder if Old Delhi is still around," Rose suggested.

"Cravings already?" asked Jackie.

"Not a pregnancy cravin', Mum."

"Rose's body shouldn't even know she is pregnant, although with the changes to her physiology and my genetic material in the mix, maybe I'm wrong," the Doctor interjected.

"Actually, I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic. Old Delhi is where John took me on our first date in 1963."

The Doctor and Rose looked at each other with moon eyes. "We had curry." The Doctor said giddily, and then kissed her a little more soundly than Jackie wanted to witness.

Jackie cleared her throat. "I know you two can't keep your hands off each other, but I'm sittin' right here."

They pulled apart, and both of them were blushing.

Someone knocked on the door. Jackie got up and looked through the peephole and then opened it. A handsome man in his mid-forties was standing at the door. "Hi Jackie." He hugged her.

"David! What're ya' doin' standin' out there in the cold! Get in here!" The man looked at the sofa and just stared. "Is that them?" he asked quietly.

"That's them! David, this here's my daughter Rose, and my son-in-law, the Doctor." Jackie was clearly proud.

David walked to the sofa and thrust out his hand.

The Doctor shook it, confused. "Am I supposed to know you?"

_"Rude,"_ Rose said silently, clearing her throat.

"I'm David. David Eddington. Bess and Niles," he paused, "they're my parents."

Rose and the Doctor's faces lit up. Rose squealed and the Doctor stood up and pumped the poor man's hand violently.

"Brilliant!" the Doctor proclaimed.

A lightbulb went on in Jackie's mind. "Niles and Bess? The Bess that was Jane's best friend? And her Niles?" she asked.

"Yes Jackie. I'm sorry I couldn't ever tell you before that my parents were friends of the Doctor and Rose. When the person gave me this package to give to the two of you," he faced the Doctor and Rose and held up a thick envelope, "that person said that I could now finally tell you, Jackie."

"Hold on, why do you even know my mum? And why do your parents know her?" Rose asked, thoroughly confused.

"David here is-" Jackie stopped herself and bit her lip. "Uh, I can't say anymore. It's a _rule," _she said deadly serious.

"I know that I can tell you this much, Doctor." David smiled wryly. "Mother and Father asked me to check in on Jackie while Rose was missing, before you and Rose were reunited at Christmas. My parents came with me a few times as well, wanted to meet the great Jackie Tyler."

"Well then," Jackie smiled proudly, "_someone_ told them nice things about me. Obviously not you," she said to the Doctor.

"I happen to think you are brilliant, Jackie Tyler. Obviously you are. You brought up Rose," the Doctor said with genuine kindness. Rose looked over at her husband and smiled.

Hesitantly, Rose asked her next question. "And your parents, how are they?"

"Oh, they're off gallivanting on their yacht. I think they're in Fiji. Mother and Father both retired from Torchwood fifteen years ago or so. They made a killing when they sold the flat in Chelsea and bought a huge sailboat. They named her the _Iris Jane, _by the way."

"Really?" Rose smiled and blushed with embarrassment.

"You were the best friend Mother ever had, Rose." David handed the thick envelope to Rose. "This is for you. I was told to give it to you on this day at this time."

"Who gave it to you?" asked the Doctor.

"I'm not at liberty to say," he replied, and the Doctor nodded.

Rose opened and pulled out two letters, one for the Doctor and one for herself. There was also a set of car keys, which she pulled them out and jingled merrily in front of the Doctor's face.

"Are those . . .? They are! Rose! The keys to Sexy II!" He put them to his lips and kissed them. "Oh you gorgeous thing!" he growled.

"Dad never let me drive it growing up. Not for lack of asking, mind you," David laughed. "It's been garaged at Mother and Father's country house for a few decades. I just had her serviced and she runs like a champ. Gorgeous vehicle. She's parked about a block away."

The Doctor adjusted his sonic and aimed it out the window.

"What ya doin' that for?" asked Jackie.

"No offense, Jackie, but this isn't the safest neighborhood. Would you leave a mint condition 1962 Aston Martin down there?"

"Well, no." Jackie smirked and crossed her arms.

"Now no one will be able to touch it without getting the shock of their life," he said with a wicked smile.

Rose giggled a bit, remembering how much John loved his car. "Country house and a yacht . . . Sounds like they did well for themselves."

"Well, Grandmother and Grandfather were well off and left part of their estate to Mother, but Mother really did earn the bulk of her wealth on her own before she went to work for Torchwood."

"So she left Prescott?"

"Yes, about four months after the two of you left. After all of the . . . _stuff_ happened at Prescott Publishing, Mr. Prescott decided to sell his share of the company and retire. Mother had a large amount of cash sitting in savings and bought him out. And the book that John and Jane wrote, I mean the two of you wrote . . . This name thing does get a bit confusing doesn't it? Anyway, _Blame it on Barcelona _went through the roof. Smash hit. And when no one came forward to claim Higgins's portion of the business after he disappeared, Mother bought out his investment as well.

"Higgins's money was tied up in court for years, but then they found an heir. Apparently that monster had seduced a young girl and gotten her pregnant when he was only sixteen, and she, fifteen. She was paid off and the baby was literally sold. The child was never found, but the mum was located. Turns out she was a very bright girl and went back to school after she gave birth and continued on to university with the money that Higgins's family had given her. She became a businesswoman, but left that life and founded a foundation for abused women and those who found themselves pregnant under less than ideal circumstances. The money went to that charity."

The Doctor smiled. "That judge was rather easy to convince when I showed him the evidence."

"What do you mean Doctor?" asked David.

"Who do you think found the mother?" the Doctor answered with a smug grin.

"You are just as amazing as Mother and Father said." David shook his head and chuckled. "Well I need to be off. Duty calls. And Doctor, Rose, it was so good to finally meet you in person. I'm sure it won't be the last time." He winked at them.

"Bye David. It was so good to see you." Jackie gave the man a friendly hug.

David left and the Doctor and Rose looked at each other.

"The book we wrote?" Rose asked. "We never finished it."

"Doctor, could you help me with something?" Jackie spoke up with a funny look on her face.

He followed Jackie into her bedroom and he returned holding a box.

"Put it on the table." Jackie opened the box. Inside were books of all shapes and sizes. She examined the titles until she found what she was looking for. "I knew I recognized the name of that book! Rose, your Dad was really into science fiction when I first met him. He was really proud of this series of books that he'd found at a used book shop. Said he was gonna make a killing on them in a few years because few complete sets of the entire series were left." Jackie handed a book to the Doctor. It was in perfect condition. The dust jacket was still shiny, with no wear.

"Blimey. I suppose we have a book to finish." The Doctor smiled. "Fancy a trip back to 1963?" He handed the book to Rose.

She turned it over and looked at the photo on the back. At the sight of herself and the Doctor smiling brightly on the back of the book jacket, she put her hand to her mouth and tears welled in her eyes. "Let's give John and Jane their honeymoon. Remember how you told Jack that you wanted to write on our honeymoon?" She laughed and the Doctor wiped away a tear that had dribbled down her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

"I think that sounds lovely."

"Before you do that you two, you owe me a trip!" Jackie crossed her arms and looked at them sternly. "If I couldn't be at your real wedding, you know, that naked one, then I think that I deserve to at least go to John and Jane's wedding."

"Jackie, it will be very dangerous for Rose and I to attend that wedding. The Family of Blood was on the hunt that night. I don't know when they arrived in St. Catherine, the village where we were married."

"Well figure something out Mr. Genius. Now that you know they're there, can't you set up some sort of force field or invisibility cloak or somethin'?" asked Jackie.

"I'm not J.K. Rowling, Jackie. There is no such thing as an invisibility cloak." He crossed his arms and leveled a look.

"You are going to take me, Doctor."

The Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose. "I tell you what. Let's go to dinner, and I'll think about it over curry and naan."

"You're brilliant, I know you'll come up with something," she smiled, and patted his arm. "Oh, I can't go out for dinner with the two of ya, it's Valentine's Day and Howard's taking me to the local. Now the two of you, go jump in that fancy car of yours and have your second first date, alright? I'll see you tomorrow morning when you come to pick me up for the wedding."

The Doctor knew he was beat. He would have to come up with something. And there would be rules. Oh yes, there would be rules.

* * *

I had a last minute name change to this story. It was to be called Found & Remembered, but I decided that Found & Revisited was more appropriate. Found & Remembered will follow this story :D


	2. First Kiss Revisited

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 2 - First Kiss Revisited**

February 14, 2007

A low-toned horn tooted in a syncopated rhythm.

"That's Howard pullin' his delivery truck 'round. I need to get going. He is so impatient! Ta!" Jackie fled to the door.

"Mum, I-" Rose was confused by quickness of her mother's emotional recovery.

"Sorry, gotta go. I don't wanna be late for the special quiz night at the pub. It's the romance edition!" Jackie proclaimed with anticipation and a finger-wingle wave. "Have fun, and see you both tomorrow morning. I want you here at 8:00 sharp," ordered Jackie as she headed out. "Make sure you lock up!" she called from the exterior corridor.

Rose stared at the door and then turned to the Doctor with a bemused look on her face. "You know, an hour ago, Mum was cryin' her eyes out about John and Jane. Now she's swannin' off. You'd think that bein' turned into completely different people woulda been a bit more of a shock to her. It's not like we just told her about some movie we went to last night." Rose crossed her arms and huffed.

"That's it. The end is here," the Doctor threw up his hands with great dramatic flair. "We have officially bored your mother."

Rose laughed and shook off her irritation. "Makes me a bit worried though…maybe even weirder stuff happens to us in the future if she isn't phased by this happenin'."

"I'm starting to get the idea that we come back from the future and visit Jackie quite a bit," he said, grimacing.

Rose switched off a few lights and they left the flat. The Doctor locked up with the sonic screwdriver, and they quickly tripped down the steps in search of his beloved Aston Martin, using his sonic to home in on the beloved vehicle.

"Oh, there she is!" the Doctor growled, and then ran full tilt to his car.

Four boys were walking around the vehicle, eyeing it with respectful appreciation.

"This your car mate?" asked the tallest boy with no ill intention evident in his voice.

"It sure is," purred the Doctor as he surreptitiously aimed his sonic screwdriver and disabled his very effective security system.

Rose stood by the passenger door, waiting for her husband to open it, just like John had always insisted. The Doctor slid in behind the steering wheel, closed his eyes and gripped it feeling the leather wrapping under his fingers, reacquainting himself with the feel of it.

Rose cleared her throat as she opened her door on her own and sat in the passenger seat. "I see that John's sense of chivalry disappeared when you opened the watch," she said cheekily.

"Rose! Just look at her!" he squealed, ignoring Rose's complaint. "She's exactly the same!" He breathed in deeply. "I don't know how they managed it, but she even smells the same. Why do you suppose that is? I didn't do anything to her, didn't put her in a time lock or anything."

Rose giggled at the Doctor's sheer joy. " So, you ready to show me your moves, Doctor?" Rose flirted, fingering the knob on the stick shift.

"Oh yes!" He revved the engine a few times, and then let up the clutch while pushing the accelerator to the floor. "Woo hoo hoo!" he whooped like a teenager as the boys enviously watched the car speed away.

Rose squealed as she was slammed into her seat. The Doctor drove like a wild man through Rose's old neighborhood, until he was forced to slow down. Traffic in the city made it impossible to navigate the streets like a rally racer.

Old Delhi was indeed still in business, though the neighborhood was decidedly more upscale now. The Doctor parked her himself, not trusting his blue beauty to the attendant. Rose began to open her door and moved to step out.

"No, you stay right there. That's my job," the Doctor said with a sexy grin.

"Doctor, you don't have to open my door, I was just kidding before," Rose said genuinely.

"Nope. No arguments, _Jane_. I want to." The Doctor ran around the front of the car and opened her door. He extended his hand to her, Rose took it, and he helped her out of the beautiful blue sports car.

Rose shuddered as he placed his hand low on her back, protectively guiding her inside of the restaurant. "I still make you shiver, I see," he growled into her ear.

"Is that a promise, _John_?"

"I don't know, it's all up to you. This is our first real date, remember? We're still getting to know each other. It's all untested. But I think I may be taking _The One_ out to dinner tonight."

"The One?" she asked.

"Yep. I called Jack the morning after we spent the night in the office writing chapter one. I told him I had found The One."

"And what about Rose Tyler? The one Jane made up?"

"Oh, she was The Other The One," he said with a grin.

Rose rolled her eyes and laughed. "Glad it worked out for ya, and you just might get lucky tonight old man, if you play your cards right," Rose said huskily.

"Welcome to Old Dehli. Do you have reservations?" asked the beautiful hostess.

"Why yes we do. Two under the name of Smith. John Smith," the Doctor stated with confidence.

"Very good, right this way."

Rose furrowed her brows and looked over at her husband.

"I called while you were changing into that frankly fantastic dress," he whispered to her.

When Howard had arrived, the Doctor and Rose had taken the opportunity to go back to the TARDIS while Jackie entertained her date. Rose had changed out of her standard uniform of hoodie, jeans and trainers into a deep red velvet dress that skimmed her knees and hugged her curves. The Doctor played with the velvet as he continued to press her low back with his hand.

As they were led to the table, she couldn't help but remember the heady feeling of butterflies and desire that overwhelmed her that night in 1963, the night that the truth of their hearts was revealed.

"Were you aiming for Valentine's Day?" Rose asked casually.

"Of course I was," he replied, cocky, with a sniff. "Well, mostly."

Rose laughed as they slid into the cozy booth for two. "Sure don't look the same," Rose said as she surveyed the luxuriously appointed room. "I can't figure out where we sat," she said, as she darted her eyes around the room. "It's so different."

The Doctor took her hand and squeezed it. "Right over there," he pointed in the general vicinity. "I sort of like the way it was before better. Now it reminds me of the tent palace of King Kekejemmja, except the servers here don't look like bipedal gila monsters. I don't think they've changed their recipes, though. My nose is telling me the food should still be delicious. And speaking of delicious, where did you get that dress? You look good enough to eat," he said into her neck.

"You like it, then?"

"Very much," he said, raking his eyes southward.

"Wardrobe. I think it's old, late 1950's maybe? If there's one thing I miss about 1963, it's the clothes. Well, not that ugly brown tweed suit, but the stuff that Bess bought me."

The Doctor sucked a breath in through his teeth. "When you walked out of your flat and skipped down the stairs wearing those skinny trousers, I wanted to push you up against the brick wall and snog the life out of you right under Mrs. Butter...what was that old gossip's name again?"

"Mrs. Butterfield."

"Ahhh yes, Mrs. Butterfield..." The Doctor looked off into infinity for a moment. "She threatened to call the cops on me and have Sexy II towed away. Imagine that! Towing my beautiful girl off like she was common scrap metal."

"She did? Why?" Rose asked as she propped chin on her hand.

"I parked in a hurry and rather badly." The Doctor's answer came out more tersely than he had intended.

Rose did not press the issue as she implicitly knew that the Doctor did not want to talk about Daniel right now. She quickly changed the subject and sat up straight. "So what are the rules? You know, for Mum when we take her to John and Jane's wedding tomorrow?"

"Rose, the only way we can do this is if my rules are followed to the letter."

"Ain't me you gotta convince, Doctor, it's Mum," Rose chuckled.

"Rule number one," he said firmly as he held up his thumb. "No touching. Number two, no talking to John and Jane. Number three, no talking to Bess, Niles, Jack or anybody else, including the MacLeishes. Number five, oh wait, four. You and I can not communicate using our bond. Period." He held up his hand for a moment, emphasizing _The Rules_.

"You don't need to explain to me, Doctor, I learned my lesson, remember? Reapers."

Not since she had offered him her eternity when they exchanged bonding vows had the Doctor felt such an earnestness from his wife.

"But how are we going to hide from the Family? We'll travel by TARDIS, and we are our real selves, right?" Rose was suddenly very concerned about this trip.

"This time we will be prepared," the Doctor replied confidently. "I'll put extra perception filters in place around the TARDIS. In fact, I already made us personal perception filters while you were dressing. I also made one for Jackie...hers has a voice dampener."

"Are you sayin' my mum has a gob? Pot calling kettle, don't ya think?" Rose teased, bumping his shoulder with hers.

He chuckled and then became serious once again. "We'll be ready for them Rose," he reiterated. "We know they are there. When they stumbled across us on Arcturus Prime, we were caught off guard so we had to run for our lives."

Rose looked down at her blue sapphire ring, and smiled wanly. "To think all of this started because of this beautiful ring."

"What do you mean?" the Doctor asked, curious.

"Well, if I hadn't have asked you to take me to see the flying rays of Arcturus Prime... You said you had a surprise for me there... And then if I hadn't have pestered you to take me to the gem mart, and if I hadn't have-"

When she mentioned Arcturus Prime, the Doctor felt an odd sense of deja vu, but he couldn't determine from where or when the vague memory had arisen.

_The Doctor was sitting on the edge of Rose's bed. She was sleeping peacefully under the familiar dark pink duvet of her youth. Even though she was asleep, he was talking to her as he held her hand. Was she ill? He knew this was more than sleep...she was either unconscious or in a coma. _

The memory fled when the Doctor felt Rose's fear surging. She began a round of _timey wimey 'what if?_' His face grew stern as he felt her worry coursing through her mind and spilling over into his. He took the concern and drew it away from her.

"Love, don't turn yourself into knots trying to play the _what if _game." He paused and then his face softened. "That's my job," said the Doctor kindly as he turned to face her fully. He grasped her shoulders, and rested his forehead against hers. "Not all events in time and space are fixed. This was one of those events. Besides, had we not been stuck in 1963, we may not have little Mel or Harry cooking away in your tummy." He kissed her gently and then spread his long-fingers over her stomach. "And...I wouldn't have Sexy II," he added with an eyebrow waggle.

Rose laughed and bit her lip, pulling away to see his face. "So how did Jane end up with this ring then?"

"My best guess is that sometime in the future, you and I deliver it to that jeweler. The shop girl told us a fantastically handsome bloke came in and traded it for an uncut emerald, remember?" he said, proudly.

"If I remember correctly, what she said was a bloke who looked like you, but was wearin' a strange brown suit and had crazy hair, and that you traded it for an uncut emerald," she said, correcting her husband.

He pouted a bit at the accuracy of her recollection.

"The only opinion that matters is mine, Doctor, and I don't think your suit is strange at all. You are dead sexy in those pinstripes. And don't even let me get started on your great hair. No, your _really_ great hair." Rose looked at his gravity defying brown mop and then ran a finger down one sideburn. "I think you know _exactly_ how great I think your hair is. Remember last night?" She reminded him of how she had thoroughly enjoyed the way his hair had felt as he had nuzzled her bare skin.

"You interested in a repeat performance?" he asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Always." Rose leaned forward to kiss her husband just as the server arrived at their table.

The polite gentleman man smiled after he cleared his throat. "Would you like to hear the specials?"

"Naw, I think we know what we're gonna have," the Doctor said, looking over at Rose who grinned back and nodded in agreement.

"I want what I had last time we were here," Rose added.

"Oh, you've eaten here before, then? How long has it been?" he asked in a friendly and conversational manner.

"Oh it's been a long time. Feels like it's been ages," Rose answered truthfully, with a shake of her head. She had put her hair up in a modern take on the 1963 French Twist that Bess had taught her and a few pieces fell out as she shook her head, naturally framing her face. "Looked quite a bit different last time. It's really pretty." She looked around the room, admiring the posh decor.

Rich jewel toned fabrics were draped in rippling waves from the ceiling. Intricately carved dark wood screens divided booth from booth, creating a sense of privacy for the individual dining parties. In the main seating area, a mixture of large round tables for six or eight and smaller square tables for two and four were generously spaced away from each other. Each table was dressed in crisp white table linen, accented by heavy silver flatware and jewel toned crystal candle holders.

"You like it then? I'm so glad. Grandfather would have been so proud of how this place has survived."

"Oh, I knew your grandfather!" blurted out the Doctor. "Fantastic fellow. Could whistle while drinking a glass of water. Great trick, that…" he said a bit jealous.

The proper young man stared at the Doctor. His grandfather had died thirty years before in an automobile accident. "But you couldn't be more than thirty-five, thirty-eight at the most..."

"Rose," he frowned, "do I look _that_ old?"

She rolled her eyes and snickered. "His parents brought him here when he was a tot. Ever since we started dating, he has told me about the place. Of course, I wanted him to bring me here for our first Valentine's Day as husband and wife," Rose replied quickly, trying hard to stick as close to the truth as she could.

"Thirty-eight? Really?" he asked himself, but no one answered.

The waiter took their orders and quickly returned with a platter of fresh vegetables, hot naan and a variety of chutneys and sauces as well as jasmine tea.

While they waited for their food, they talked about baby proofing the TARDIS, the strange birthing customs on Fromma, why Rassilon forbade natural procreation and where they might be able to find teeny-weeny, infant-sized Chucks for their baby. The conversation then turned to the inevitable subject of their first date in this very restaurant.

"I was so nervous last time we were here, well, until you set me straight," Rose said quietly as she sipped her tea.

"I could tell. I made it my personal goal to make you blush as much as possible that night, and from the moment I finally figured out that you and Rose were the same person, I was bound and determined to get you to kiss me."

"You wicked man, doing that to me. I was so shy and unsure of myself. The whole time I sat there wondering why in the world someone like you would ever want to be out on a date with someone like me." Rose stopped. "There is something I've been meaning to ask you, Doctor."

"What's that, love?" He propped his head on his hand and watched her intently.

"If you were fully human, and I was, well, you know, a normal human again when we were John and Jane, how did we share dreams? And how could I hear you in my head when I was drugged up by Daniel in that horrible movie studio?"

"Remember that program I wrote? After you underwent the Chameleon Arch? I made sure that I would be irresistible to you, and that you would be irresistible to me. I suppose the TARDIS took that to mean that she had to keep the smallest flicker of our bond intact. I certainly didn't expect her to do that. I just wanted her to make my personality and tastes attractive to you."

"The TARDIS is magnificent, Doctor."

The Doctor warmed at the awe in Rose's voice. "Of course she is," he added softly. "She chose you over all of the others with whom I have ever travelled. She spoke to you. You saved me, so she saved you. She saw inside of your heart, and she already knew the truth that I had tried to keep hidden in mine, and she knew that we needed each other." The Doctor leaned forward and kissed his wife slowly and gently.

Once again, their kiss was interrupted by the clearing of the waiter's throat.

"Chicken Biryani for the lovely lady in red, and Tikka Masala for the gentleman. Here is your rice and more bread. Is there anything else I may bring you?"

The Doctor looked at Rose and smiled. "Yes, a bottle of your best champagne."

Rose opened her mouth to protest, worried about her brand new pregnancy, but he put his finger on her lips. _"I have a few tricks up my sleeve_."

"_Alright_..." she replied silently, questioning his judgment a bit.

Once the wine had arrived, the cork had been removed with a flourish and the waiter had disappeared, the Doctor pulled out his sonic and put it right up against the bottle.

"Even though the risk is extremely low, I am adjusting the chemical bonds which make the alcohol harmful to Baby Shireen or Mickey, and leaving all of the fantastic properties of the bubbly intact."

"Mickey? Shireen?" Rose asked with an upraised eyebrow.

"They're friends of yours, so their names are officially in the hat."

"And I am taking both off of the list. Now matter how much I love Shireen, I do not want our child named after the biggest flirt in the Powell Estate or my ex-boyfriend, thank you very much."

The Doctor smirked, and then poured their glasses and lifted his in a toast. "To John and Jane who will always be as blissfully in love as they were that one month in the spring of 1963."

Rose smiled, gently touched her glass to his, and brought her glass to her lips.

"Wait, wait, wait, I'm not done," he said rapidly. "And to us. No matter where or when we end up, we will be just as happy as we are right now."

"Did you know that champagne is more intoxicating than still wines because the carbon dioxide gas rushes the alcohol into the small intestine where it is absorbed faster than in the stomach? The carbonation also makes it easier for the bloodstream and brain to absorb the alcohol."

"That explains a lot," she said with a giggle.

"Story?" he asked as he took a bite of chicken.

Rose laughed. "You bet there's a story." She went on to tell him about Jane's boozy admission to Bess Cooper that she was attracted to John Smith, and that she had never had a boyfriend, let alone a lover. "I really miss having Bess to talk to, Doctor."

"I miss having Jack to pester at two in the morning."

"Story?" Rose asked in the same flirtatious manner that her husband had.

"Oh yes. John had a bit of an insomnia issue, as you may have remembered me telling you. Nightmares, too, so I wrote at night. Well, I would also call Jack at any hour."

"I bet he liked that," Rose said facetiously, but she furrowed her brow when she saw that pain was written all over the Doctor's face and throbbed hotly in his mind.

"I never got to apologize, Rose," he said, baring his raw emotions.

She immediately pulled her into a comforting hug and rubbed his back.

"He was my best friend, and I never apologized for leaving him behind on the Game Station."

"I never got to apologize to him either, Doctor." Rose pulled away and looked at him.

"Why do you need to apologize?" he asked.

"For changing him," she replied, looking down. "Making him almost immortal."

The Doctor opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

"Of course I know I was the one who changed him," she said quietly. "We have no more secrets, remember? I just never thought that...that I'd see him again, and well, now that he is really gone...and he did so much for us...Doctor, he saved our lives. We owe him so much and we won't ever be able to repay him, will we?"

The Doctor shook his head. The movement was almost imperceptible, and Rose felt it more than she saw it. "I don't think so, love. It's possible he could have recovered from that blast, but to be disintegrated? That seems awfully...extreme. I really don't think he came back from that."

Rose frowned and her lips began to twitch.

The Doctor picked up his champagne flute and held it up. "To Jack and the hope that he beat the odds."

"To Jack," Rose whispered in reply.

They finished dinner, and although their moods were somewhat dimmed by the discussion of the loss of their friend, the evening was lovely and throughly romantic. The Doctor drove them across Westminster Bridge and parked his car close to the Victoria Gardens. They walked along the Embankment, hand in hand, until they reached the spot of their first kiss.

"Too cold for ice cream tonight," Rose said through chattering teeth, but still managing to smile.

The Doctor had taken off his long brown coat and wrapped it around her shoulders when they began their walk fifteen minutes prior.

"How am I _ever_ going to entice you to kiss me without an ice cream to steal?" he asked with mock seriousness.

"Are you sayin' I actually have you at an advantage?"

The Doctor grinned naughtily and pulled his coat right off of her shoulders and deftly slipped back into it. "I just found my leverage."

"Hey! I was wearin' that!" Rose protested, wrapping herself in her own bare arms.

"I need to think through my options. I think I see an opportunity here. I could simply give you the coat back, which is of course," he thrust his hands deep into his pockets, "the gentlemanly thing to do. But who said I was a gentleman. Or," he said, twirling dramatically so that the coattails swirled about him, "I could hold it for ransom."

Rose raised a single eyebrow. "Ransom? For your coat?" She smiled for the briefest moment as she remembered the almost identical incident in this very location.

His eyes sparkled. "If you want this coat back, don't you think I deserve some sort of a payment? Something equally as warm and inviting as my fantastic coat? Janis Joplin gave me this coat, you know."

"Yeah, so I've heard," she said, teeth chattering.

"So, you would get something, and I would get something and well really, we would both be getting something." He walked around her as he expounded.

"Just tell me what you want, already!" she laughed, following him with her eyes.

"Eh, eh, eh, no need to get tetchy. All I am asking for is a kiss."

"A...a kiss? What kind of kiss? Like on the cheek?" she asked innocently, mimicking Jane as best as she could.

"Mmmm..." he considered, "nope."

Rose remembered the nervousness that Jane had felt at that very moment, in those few seconds before she had given her first innocent kiss and then had received her very first knee buckling, heart pounding, toe tingling kiss. It had been a deliciously terrifying feeling. She smiled as she recalled daring to daydream about herself and John walking along the Embankment pushing a pram. All of Jane's dreams had come true, as had Rose's own deepest wish. She was married to the Doctor. She was carrying his child. She was well and truly happy beyond all of her expectations.

Jane had grabbed his lapels and pulled John into a hard, daring kiss. That act of bravery had opened the floodgates of passion that Jane had been holding back.

This kiss would be different, because in an exotic bedroom on a planet named Barcelona, the Doctor and Rose had mutually opened their own floodgates, releasing their frustrations, passions and secrets. Rose was not the shy, scared girl that Jane had been, though they both had much in common.

Rose took one step forward, and spread her hands over the Doctor's chest, one palm over each heart. Standing on tiptoe she pressed her lips against his, coaxing him, just as John had coaxed Jane with his lips during their second kiss that night. The Doctor wrapped his arms around her, and enfolded her within his voluminous coat.

The kiss ended, but they stayed within their embrace, lips just touching, feeling each other's warm breath.

"Take me back to your place?" Rose whispered into his mouth.

The Doctor chuckled. "Liable to be a scandal, tongues will wag," he said in a quiet warning tone.

"Lucky you," she said breathlessly kissing him again.

"How _ever_ will you face them when we walk out of my blue box tomorrow morning, disheveled and flushed..." He took his coat off once again, and draped it over her shoulders.

"Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting, Doctor?" Rose flirted.

"Oh yes!"

"Let's go cause that scandal." Rose reached for her husband's hand and prompted him to run to their car.

The Doctor drove them back to the Powell Estate, secured his beloved Aston Martin next to the TARDIS and led his bride inside their home.

oOo

February 15, 2007

Morning came too soon for the lovers. Rose groaned as the old fashioned two bell alarm clock clanged loudly. She lifted her messy head and flipped the brass lever to halt the obnoxious ringing and then rolled back over and buried her face into the pillow with a grunt.

Rose lifted her head back up. "Remind me why we're leaving so early again?" she mumbled.

"Because your mother told me, in no uncertain terms, that I would take her to see John and Jane's wedding, and you agreed with her." The Doctor pulled Rose against himself, and she nestled her rear into his front.

"Don't wanna get outta bed. Ya tired me out last night...and this morning," she said groggily, smiling though her eyes were still closed. His arms were wrapped around her, and she held his hands, pressing them into her soft chest.

"Well you did ask me to bring you back to my place," he said huskily into her neck. "You aren't having any morning after regrets, are you?"

"Only one. I regret that we agreed to pick up my mum at eight this morning."

"It's only 6:30. Why'd you set the alarm so early?" he asked.

"So we could do more of what we did last night, of course." Rose turned in his arms and their lips met.

oOo

"Hi Mum," Rose called as she pushed the door open and walked into the flat. "We're here. You ready to go?"

"Be right there, Swee'hear'," Jackie called from the kitchen. "Makin' tea for the trip. Do you think I should make some sandwiches or bring some fruit to snack on?"

"It'll take about fifteen minutes to get there, Jackie. Not that your tea isn't fantastic. In fact bring some of that fantastic tea along," he said exuberantly. "And bananas are always good for a trip, no matter how short. Bring some of those, too." The Doctor bounded into the kitchen with a grin and watched Jackie as she prepared her perfect tea.

"You're in an awfully good mood this morning, Doctor," Jackie said turning around and winking saucily. "Had a good Valentine's Day then, did you?"

"I'm _really_ not talking about this with you." The Doctor squeezed the back of his neck as his face flushed red.

Jackie cackled and flipped her hand. "I'm just teasing you, luv. There! A big thermal carafe of tea, and I packed a whole bunch of those bananas you love so much, too. And I have some blueberry muffins that I made this morning."

"Like I said Jackie, it's probably about a fifteen minute jaunt. Only going to Scotland for heaven's sake, and just a few years back..."

"I'm so excited! First time ever to travel in that box of yours! Never been on an airplane, didja know that? Never been on an airplane and here I am, about to go on a spaceship! Now you better make sure that we don't end up in the wrong year or nothin' like old you did...twelve months instead of twelve hours..."

"Never will let me live that down will you?" he said with a smirk.

"Oh quit your moanin'. I forgave you for that ages ago...how couldn't I forgive this cute little facie-wacie." Jackie pinched his face with one hand until his lips were puckered.

The Doctor squirmed out of her grip and rubbed his cheeks. "900 some-on years and I have never, ever, ever had anyone do that to me, and that will never happen again, do you hear me, Jackie Tyler?" He pointed his long finger at her sternly, and she laughed at him again.

"You're too easy to wind up, Doctor. Don't you get it? You're family now. Families tease. You're the man my little girl chose to spend her life with, and I couldn't be happier about it."

The Doctor's face softened, and he cracked a small smile. "Just no more cheek pinching, got it?"

"No more cheek pinchin', I swear. Come on then, let's get goin'." Jackie walked out into the lounge and saw Rose in jeans and a hoodie. "Wait! This is a church weddin'. You're not dressed properly. I raised you better than that!"

"Look what you're wearin'. A velour track suit," Rose countered.

"My dress is in my bag, Little Missy. Don't give your mother cheek. The baby will hear you and develop bad habits."

"It's okay Mum, no one will be able to see us. The Doctor cobbled together some perception filter for us...sort of like what happens with the TARDIS...ya' know how no one notices it really sittin' down there in the courtyard? It's 'cos of the perception filter."

"See! I knew you'd come up with an invisibility cloak!" Jackie said proudly. "You're just as brilliant as Rose says you are, aren't ya?" Jackie handed the thermos to the Doctor, the bag of fruit and pastries to Rose and pushed her daughter and son-in-law out the door, locking up behind herself. The trio made their way to their transport.

"Ready to be amazed Mum?" asked Rose dramatically.

"Oh I've been inside loads of times. Just never been on a trip. Himself has never invited me along until now," she replied casually, inclining her head in the general direction of her son-in-law.

The two time travelers looked at each other. "What?" they said simultaneously. "When?"

"Future you even gave me a tour! Well don't look so surprised. Get this thing going, Doctor! Come on now, shift!"

Without another word, but plenty said as he sighed heavily, the Doctor set the coordinates for Monday, May 20, 1963, 3:25 pm, St. Catherine, Scotland. He slowly flipped the lever, taking them into the vortex.

* * *

And away... we go! Warning, wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey bumps ahead. Thanks for all of the reviews and additions to your favorite lists!


	3. Old & Older Friends Revisited

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 3 - Old & Older Friends Revisited**

The TARDIS shimmied and shook. "Hold on, it's gonna get bumpy," the Doctor said with a manic grin.

Rose stood next to the Doctor, braced herself, shifting her hand from its position as she did so.

"I told you not to let go of that!" the Doctor screeched.

"I didn't let go, I moved my hand! It was gettin' a cramp!" replied Rose, a bit hot.

"What'd you let it do that for?" was his reply.

Rose rolled her eyes, chuckled quietly and quickly forgot his rudeness.

"Don't you talk to my daughter that way, mister!" Jackie interjected, having observed the interchange.

"Mum, it's okay, sometimes it gets tense, that's all," Rose smiled as the Doctor ran around to the opposite side of the console shouting to himself, hitting buttons and flipping switches with every other hand as he made his mad journey.

"No it isn't. Now you see here, Doctor, you may be the so called almighty Time Lor-"

"Hold on to something!" The Doctor ordered.

The three travelers heard a shuddering groan, and then the ship triple-bounced before finally landing with a hard thud. Rose and the Doctor were thrown to the floor onto their backs. Rose groaned and rolled over onto her knees but the Doctor was on his feet and helping her up before she could right herself.

"You alright?" he asked, concerned, as he waved his sonic screwdriver over her abdomen.

"I'm fine. Glad I have a bit of padding back there." She rubbed her buttocks. "You okay, Mum?"

"I'm fine. I held on just like I was told," Jackie said with wide, terrified eyes. "Is it always like this?" she asked.

"No, this was a hard one. Sorry Jackie. Chronoturbulence. Rose, remind me to install a harness for you. I can't have you bouncing around like that now that you're expecting."

"No complaints from me," she replied softly, with a pained, distracted look on her face.

_"Rose, love, are you alright?" _the Doctor asked silently.

_"Yeah, I'm fine. I just...have a strange feeling that there's something else that we're missing, something that we're supposed to do while we're here."_

_"I don't feel anything off really, but I'm not saying you aren't feeling it. You feel things differently than I do."_

"Doctor," she continued verbally, "let's go see our wedding!" Rose shook the feeling and put a smile on her face, taking his hand. "You ready Mum?"

Jackie was silent. Rose turned around and faced her.

"Mum?" Rose saw a look of terror on her mother's face. She let go of the Doctor's hand and went to her mother who was still holding onto a support column for dear life.

"What have I gotten myself into?" Jackie asked, wide-eyed and quiet.

"Whaddya mean? We're just gonna go see John and Jane get married," Rose replied gently, laying a hand on her mother's arm.

A rather devilish grin grew on the Doctor's face. "Jackie, are you scared?" he asked with one eyebrow raised. "Jackie Tyler, the woman who stood toe to toe with me, the Lord of Time is scared to go to a wedding?"

"Doctor! Rude!" Rose admonished loudly.

"I ain't scared, Doctor, I'm...I'm...I'm..." Jackie stuttered as she continued to hold onto the coral column for dear life.

"Mum, it's okay. I promise. Here, I will go to the door and open it, and then I'll look outside and make sure it's safe. The Doctor isn't gonna let us go out there if it isn't okay, especially now that I'm-"

"But what about all those rules? What if I muck it up? What if I say somethin' wrong and those blood people come after you? What if I don't-"

"Jackie, we've come his far, it will be fine. I probably...overstated the danger just a bit. You know, what the leader does in moderation, the followers do in excess. So I came up with a very strict set of rules so you would, you know, follow at least one or two of them." He turned away and made a face at Rose. "Sorry," he mouthed.

Jackie frowned, and let go of the column. "Alright then. Tell me then, Doctor, which rules are most important?"

"Don't touch anyone and don't talk to anyone. And Jackie, please, I beg of you, keep your voice down, alright?"

"Isn't that _all_ of the rules?" asked Jackie in a high pitched voice.

"Well there are more, but they...don't apply to you, just to me and the Missus here," he said a bit too brightly. _"Oh, who am I kidding?" _he silently said to Rose with resignation. _"Yeah, it's dangerous, and stupid and really, really foolish that we are here. I probably woulda had a regeneration or two forced out of me if the High Council had gotten wind of it in the old days._"

_"Doctor, we don't have to do this," _Rose prodded silently.

_"Since when has a bad idea ever stopped me?"_ he answered her with a growing grin. "Jackie! Rose!" He said their names grandly as he held up two necklaces. Small mirror-like medallions hanged from chains. He handed them to the women with ceremony. "Put these on." He pulled his own from his suit coat pocket and dropped it over his head.

Rose complied immediately, but Jackie hesitated for a moment.

"Go on Mum, put it on," Rose said, holding the round mirror out to examine it.

With Rose's encouragement, Jackie nervously slipped the necklace over her head. The Doctor depressed the button on his screwdriver, and the three round mirrors subtly vibrated and grew hot, startling Jackie.

"Wha' tha'? Wasshappenin'? Is this thing gonna burn me or beam me up somewhere?" Jackie asked with panic in her voice. Her bright blue eyes were wide, showing her fear.

"Just a moment, let me...do...this one...last...thing..." the Doctor said, pressing his tongue into the back of his teeth and squinting through his glasses as he fiddled with each of the mirrors individually, starting with Jackie's. "There. That should do it."

"Why don't you tell us what these do, Doctor. Maybe Mum won't be so frightened if she knows what it's for, yeah?" suggested Rose, a bit saccharine sweet, trying hard to counteract her mother's fears.

"I've modified these nano-fractal wave modulation facilitators to act as personal perception blockers, well more than just perception blockers really. We will be invisible to the standard five human senses and non-standard senses as well, just in case there is anyone in attendance with enhanced perception. Additionally, I have fitted mine and Rose's with vortex residue shields and time deflection."

Jackie stared at him with a blank face.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "No one can see, hear, smell, taste or feel us," he replied.

"Oh! Invisibility cloaks!" Jackie replied brightly.

The Doctor ignored half smiled in spite of himself. "Yeah, guess so. The thing is, I can't enable them fully until we get into the church, because they burn through batteries really, really fast, and I only had twelve AAA batteries left. Oh! That reminds me, love. Put batteries on the Tesco list, would you? Anyway, I'm setting them on low for the walk from here to there, and will crank up the power to eleven when we get settled. Right now, they are level four, which will be more than adequate, but I've disabled the vocal anti-amplifier to cut back on the power drain, so no talking until we arrive at the church, and even then, it will be whispering only."

"Level Eleven gonna be enough?" Rose asked.

"Course it will, it's the highest level," he said dismissively.

"Eleven? Why not ten? Isn't everything scale of one to ten?" Asked Jackie.

"On Chism the standard reference scale is two to negative fourteen, negative fourteen being the highest, and on Palparnox it's-"

Rose snorted. "You watched Spinal Tap again, didn't you? I thought I heard you singin' _Diva Fever _in the shower this morning," she giggled.

"Can't go back to London, can't to back to Swindon..." he sang with gusto, playing air guitar and leaping up onto the white bench.

Rose laughed and offered him her hand. He jumped down and they bumped shoulders as he pulled her down the ramp.

"Come on then, we have a wedding to crash!" he said, opening the door with a flourish, putting his finger on his lips as a silent command to remain quiet.

The Doctor and Rose held hands, swinging them merrily, as the threesome silently walked across the field, aiming for the tall, prominent stone steeple of St. Catherine's Presbyterian.

oOo

Rose, Jackie and the Doctor crept up the spiral staircase into the balcony choir loft at the rear of the church and settled into the front row of the empty pews. At the modest but tuneful pipe organ, an elderly woman with snow white hair began to quietly play _Air On a G String_. A handful of elderly men and women were sprinkled throughout the beautiful sanctuary. The afternoon sun streamed in through the stained glass windows, casting colorful jewel-toned spots of light throughout the room.

"I know I don't have to remind the two of you about the rules. No loud talking. Extremely quiet whispering is fine, but use discretion, alright? The acoustics in this building are very acousticky. " He frowned. "That sounded better in my head. Anyway, no moving. Keep as still as possible. No bond flaring, Rose." The Doctor smiled wolfishly as he instructed his bond mate to keep her mental hands to herself. "And most important? No touching ourselves! Oh that sounded better in my head too, but I know you know what I mean, right? Can you remember these rules?"

Wife and mother-in-law nodded gravely.

"If I'm right and I usually am, we're going to be here any minute." The Doctor pulled out his sonic, and fully activated the personal perception fields hanging around each of their necks. Blue lights pulsed and now the three of them were perfectly hidden in plain sight.

"You're sure the Family won't find us, Doctor?" Rose whispered nervously.

"I'm certain, love. They weren't here, well, aren't here yet. I'd be able to feel them," he replied equally nervous.

"What were you thinking right now?" Rose changed the subject.

"Want the romantic answer or the real answer?" he asked with a half smile.

"Yeah, well, I was thinking the same thing," she winked. "The two of us sure were randy," laughed Rose.

"_Were_?" he asked before kissing his wife full on the mouth.

"Oi! I'm right here!" Jackie screeched loudly, sniffing back a tear.

"Quiet Jackie!" the Doctor hissed.

"You're being rude again," Rose said to her husband as she rubbed a small circle on her still flat stomach.

"Fingers . . . on . . . lips!" he said, ignoring Rose.

"Don't you dare fingers on lips me, mister!" Jackie replied in a stage whisper. "I can't help sniffin'! My only daughter's about to get married down there, an' she don't even know I'm here!"

"What do you mean I don't even know? I'm right here!" Rose whispered, mildly amused.

"_That_ you thinks I'm dead." Jackie pointed down, knowing Jane was standing right below where she was sitting, waiting for the sanctuary doors to be opened, "thanks to the crazy story that blue box you call a home concocted up." Jackie was still angry that she had missed the Doctor and Rose's first wedding, not fully understanding the private, intimate nature of a Gallifreyan bonding ceremony. It was so much more than 'the naked wedding' as Jackie referred to it.

"That box, as you so rudely call her, my TARDIS, saved our lives, Jackie. Rose, your grandchild, and I wouldn't be here right now if she hadn't have concocted that crazy story! Now please stop talking or we will have to leave. One word: Reapers and Family of Blood."

"That was five words, Doctor," Rose giggled, nudging him with her elbow.

The Doctor smirked. "I know that you understand how risky this is, Rose. If your mother won't listen to me, maybe she'll listen to you."

Rose nodded. "Please Mum, stop crying. You want to see the wedding don't you?"

"Well of course I do! You're my only child, and that alien over there didn't think to invite me to your real wedding," Jackie said sourly.

"How many times do I have to tell you Jackie, Gallifreyan bonding rites are private." The Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "You couldn't have been there. Not all societies make a big fat production of marriage."

"I happen to like big fat production weddings, and I'm sure that Rose wouldn't have minded one, either. Isn't that right Rose?"

"I loved my wedding, Mum. Now would the two of you stop bickering? You're upsetting TT." Rose looked down at her belly and continued to rub small, comforting circles.

The Doctor and Jackie looked at each other, feeling soundly chastised, although the Doctor knew that it was impossible for Rose to feel their child yet, as the baby had not yet even implanted itself in Rose's womb.

Jackie sniffed in acquiescence. "At least you finally got my Rose a ring. And on that count, you did good, Doctor."

"Didn't he though?" Rose replied, looking down with fondness at the beautiful stone that graced her hand.

The organist began to play _Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring_ on the small pipe organ. The Doctor leaned against the railing and watched intently as his human self and Jack walked into the sanctuary through the side door. John stood as still as a statue, hands clasped behind his back. His eyes were fixed on the back of the sanctuary, waiting for his Jane to emerge and come to him.

"Have I ever told you how completely ravishing you looked that day?" Rose whispered to her husband. "I was distracted the entire time. Kept wondering if you had anything on under that kilt."

"May have a time or two, but I think you still find me distracting," he growled back at her.

"Got that right." Rose kissed the Doctor until her mother elbowed her sharply, and they broke their kiss.

"Oh, here's Bess!" Rose sighed as her friend walked down the aisle.

"Aww, look at himself! He looks so happy." Jackie whispered to Rose. "Well now, doesn't Jack look good enough to eat?"

"Don't he though?" Rose cooed.

"Hey, wait a minute. How do you know Jack?" the Doctor asked, surprised.

"Erm…I can't say," Jackie replied.

The Doctor harrumphed and crossed his arms and then his face brightened. "If you know Jack, then Jack is alive."

"Jack's alive?" Rose asked her mother.

"Rose, Doctor, I'm sorry, I really have said too much. I'm sorry." Jackie was genuinely remorseful.

Rose and the Doctor looked at each other, and then embraced. The Doctor looked at Jackie and nodded. "Thanks Jackie…for following the rules." He paused. Hey! What about me? Don't I look foxy?" he whined.

_"Doctor, I think you know just how delectable you look, and I seem to remember I showed you just how delicious you were or rather, are, tonight, or don't you remember?"_ Rose spoke to her husband through their bond. This certainly was not a conversation she wanted to share with her mother.

"Don't do that Rose, you're breaking a rule. No initiating our bond," he lectured his wife, unconvincingly stern.

The music surged as the countermelody began, and they saw Jane walking down the aisle on Niles's arm

"Look at my hair! It's huge!" Rose turned to her mother and whispered.

"That's some powerful hairspray you're using. Oh Rose, your dress is gorgeous!" Jackie cooed.

"I loved that dress. Felt so pretty in it."

"You looked beautiful, my Jane," the Doctor whispered in her ear. "You want to know what I was thinking the moment I saw you? What I was really thinking?"

Rose nodded her head. "You're going to break your own rule?"

"It's okay. I'll keep it brief," he replied.

Rose processed John's memories that the Doctor cherished and carried.

"Can you hear my thoughts?" asked the Doctor.

"Yeah, you're bubbling over with happiness, like you are gonna burst if she doesn't run down the aisle and snog you this instant. You ever sorry that it didn't last for them? Do you miss us being them?" Rose asked.

"That's a complicated question, and I don't know if I have an answer to it, to be honest, love. Do you miss John?" he asked Rose.

"Yeah, sometimes," she replied, truthfully. "But you're him, and he was you."

"Jane was brilliant. But John was for Jane and Jane was for John. They belonged together, just like we belong to each other." He paused and watched as Jane approached the front of the church. "I miss Jane, sometimes. Do you mind Rose?"

"I don't mind." Rose smiled and looked over at her husband. "Not at all." She looked down at her belly, took the Doctor's hand and gently placed it on her abdomen.

The Doctor's long fingers splayed out over the fabric, and he smiled.

Jackie pulled them from their private moment. "Bess is so pretty, and Niles doesn't look any different now than he did then."

"Shhh! The ceremony is about to begin," said the Doctor, silencing the women.

For the rest of the ceremony, the clandestine guests were silent. The Doctor pulled Rose close into his side and she leaned her head onto his shoulder. Jackie continued to sniffle and dab her eyes, but the Doctor never scolded her once. When the ceremony was complete, and Jane and John kissed, their counterparts in the balcony chastely mirrored the kiss. Jackie looked over at her daughter and son-in-law and smiled fondly.

"We need to go," the Doctor announced gently, clearly disappointed to leave.

The ladies nodded and the trio stood up and made their way down the stairway as the bride and groom walked up the aisle and out of the church.

As they walked back silently to the TARDIS, Rose couldn't help but think that there was still something more that needed to be done, but the thought passed as she spied the TARDIS.

The threesome entered and all sighed in relief as the door was safety shut behind them.

"Thank you Doctor, thank you so much." Jackie hugged the Doctor tightly.

He smiled and patted her back fondly. "You are very welcome, Jackie. So, home?"

"Home," Jackie said with a smile.

"And Jackie, it won't be quite as bumpy a ride this time, but hold on just in case."

The ride was indeed easy, and they landed without incident. The Doctor opened the doors and ushered Jackie out into the familiar morning light of the Powell Estate. He looked around and smiled.

"February 15, 2007, 8:15 am. No one the wiser, Jackie Tyler! For all they know, you popped out to the corner market for a loaf of bread."

"So where are you two off to now?" Jackie asked, smiling softly.

"I was thinking about taking Rose to Shan Shen," said the Doctor.

"What's Shin Shin like?" asked Rose.

"Shan Shen," corrected her husband. "It's a human colony with an Asian flavor. There's a grand street market in the capital of the northeastern continent. Fantastic little nibbles."

"Can…Can I come?" Jackie Tyler asked quietly and almost shyly, looking down at her fingernails.

"Come again?" the Doctor asked.

"I want to know if I can come along to Shin Shun, do some shoppin' maybe. I'll pay you back 'cos they probably use some Martian money." Jackie was more forceful in her request this time.

The Doctor looked at Rose with bit of a panicked look on his face.

"It's just one trip, Doctor. Can we give her a proper trip in space?" Rose prodded quietly.

He thought for a moment. "Alright. One trip to Shan Shen coming up." He turned to Jackie. "But one trip, just one!" He held up a finger and raised his eyebrows.

"Just one. Got it." She nodded.

Everyone got back into the TARDIS and took their places. Rose snickered as she saw her mother hugging a support column with both arms. The time rotor began to rise and fall as the Doctor and Rose worked together wordlessly. They settled into the time vortex, and Jackie hesitantly peeled herself off of the column to gingerly walk over to the white bench.

"I'm goin' into outer bloomin' space," Jackie said, dazed.

"We can turn back, Mum, if you don't wanna go, it's okay, or you could stay here while we explore for a bit," Rose offered kindly, sitting down next to her.

"Um, I think...I think I'll stay back if you don't mind. I'm sorry, Doctor." Jackie looked at him sheepishly. "I'm feelin' a bit overwhelmed ta be honest."

"It's alright Jackie. Why don't you go on into the kitchen and fix yourself a nice cuppa. Go down that corridor, past the potted palm and it'll be on your right. The kettle is on the counter, and the tea is in the cabinet above the cooker."

"I know where the kitchen is, Doctor, but it isn't some weird alien tea is it?" she asked.

"No," he replied rudely, wide-eyed and loud. "Twinings Earl Grey, original."

It wasn't long before the TARDIS had arrived on Shan Shen.

"Shall we head out?" The Doctor extended his arm, and Rose looped hers through. "We won't be long, Jackie. Call Rose if you need us. Gimme your mobile and I'll improve your reception." He waggled his eyebrows at here.

"Oh, you already fixed my phone ages ago, Doctor. I get great reception!" Jackie said proudly.

Jackie set off to the kitchen for tea, and Rose and the Doctor left the TARDIS to explore the market.

oOo

"Oh, lookie here!" The Doctor bounded over to a stall lined with pink and blue silk. "Little tiny shoes!" He picked up a pair and made them dance in the air.

"Oh, those are darling!" Rose gushed and then gasped, grabbing her stomach.

The Doctor dropped the shoes, also feeling the small twinge of pain in his wife's body. He went down onto his knees and put his hands on her stomach and kissed it. "Hello little one," he whispered and then looked up at Rose with dewy eyes.

"What just happened?" Rose asked, looking down at her husband, wide-eyed and breathless.

"Implantation," he answered, a bit in awe. "Our wee one has firmly attached him or herself to you."

"Doctor," she said quietly.

"Gallifreyans have a very strong survival instinct. Have to, considering we live so long, and most couples only had one child. One chance, gotta make it count. Now some human women know when implantation happens, but most don't even notice. But from the little research I've done so far, this baby is going to be a bit different than most, not surprisingly. Gallifreyan pregnancies, real physical Gallifreyan pregnancies, not the children born on looms, but those pregnancies which were physically gestated were very, very stable. Implantation occurred very quickly after fertilization...within forty-eight hours. But I said that already didn't I? Yes, I believe I did."

"Doctor," Rose repeated.

"We're oh," he counted on his fingers, "approximately thirty-six hours post coitus and fertilization. I'm 99.744445% sure that the magic moment was on Tuesday afternoon at 1:14. Remember what happened after Jack interrupted us? John didn't know it, but my Time Lord memory does. You were ovulating."

"Licked my arm did you?" she asked, with a tongue peeking smile.

"Licked every square inch of you, now didn't I?" he growled.

She breathed in and out a few times. "Stop talkin' about it, Doctor. I'm getting warm just thinkin' about it and I wanna do some shoppin'."

"I'll keep that in mind for later," he said looking up at her with a devilish half smile. "In a standard human pregnancy, implantation will occur one to two weeks after sperm meets egg. But this isn't a human pregnancy. So we're way ahead of the human curve. Now Rose, things are going to start occurring rather quickly. You're going to physical symptoms much sooner, and most of the physical growth will occur in the first six months. Physically, our-"

"Doctor!" she said loudly. "You're babblin' and still on your knees and people are laughing."

"Oh. Oh! Hello everyone!" he sprang up, and waved at the gawking crowd. "My wife is having a baby! Our little boy or girl just plugged him or herself into mummy! Isn't that brilliant? I'm a dad! A dad!" he gushed. "And I'm going to buy my baby some shoes!"

Rose was laughing almost hysterically now, as the Doctor purchased far too many shoes, and matching socks as well.

"I'm a bit hungry," Rose announced after they had visited their seventh maternity or baby related merchant.

"And what do you desire, oh fertile ground for my seed?" he asked grandly.

"You didn't just say that..." Rose snorted and tossed her hair.

"I certainly did, sweet bearer of my progeny." He waggled his eyebrows.

Rose groaned. "Nine months of this?"

"Nope. Almost ten. Forty-three weeks, to be exact."

Rose groaned again. "Well I guess I'm going I need my strength. Anything like a fruit smoothie here on Shing Shang?"

"Shan Shen, and yes. Right, over there. Ooo, let's go here first!" The Doctor pulled Rose up to a booth selling herbal beauty treatments and massage oils.

"Smell this one," the Doctor said, pulling off the cork stopper and pushing the long-necked bottle under the his wife's nose.

"May I help you find something special for the mother of your child?" The elderly woman in the booth wore a loose, sage green linen gown, and her long silver hair was pulled up into a tight knot on the top of her head, held in place by a pair of black lacquer chopsticks.

"How'd you know I was expecting?" Rose asked, perplexed and a bit mystified.

"I heard your husband bragging about his manly prowess over at that place that sells the cutest little shoes, and you are carrying parcels from seven different merchants, each of which cater to expectant mothers or babies."

Rose laughed.

"You thought I was a mystic, didn't you?" The old woman laughed. "I am a mother four times, grandma seven. You are going to need something to ease the symptoms of your impending morning sickness, which rarely occurs in the morning, dear." She laughed again. "Safe for your special babe, too. Just ask the Doctor. He'll know."

"You know my husband?" asked Rose.

"Not this face, but I heard the TARDIS, and who else would be using a sonic screwdriver to examine the freshness of my herbs?" The woman shuffled her arthritic body to where the Doctor was standing. "Don't you recognize me Doctor?" she asked.

The Doctor turned around, looked for a moment and then the smile of recognition grew on his face. "Ling! I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you! How long has it been for you?"

"Since you saw me last in your timeline, fifty-five years. Since I saw you, not quite as long," she replied with a wink. "Your looks have improved," she said with a wink. "And now it appears you have found a companion of a more permanent nature."

"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce you. Ling, this is my wife, Rose Tyler, and this," he pointed to Rose's flat stomach, "is little Alistair or Peri, or...well, we haven't settled on names yet."

"Nice to meet you Rose Tyler. Are…are you from Gallifrey as well?" she asked a bit hesitantly.

The Doctor's jaw set hard for a moment, and then Rose reached for his hand and squeezed.

"Nope. I'm from London, 21th century Earth. The Doctor here saved my life."

"He does have a habit of doing that, doesn't he?" Ling smiled. "So you are expecting. How much do you know about human-Gallifreyan hybrid pregnancies, Rose?"

"Not enough," she winced.

The Doctor moved to examine a display of herbs, and soon occupied himself tasting the samples.

"I have something for you," said Ling in a grandmotherly fashion. "Perfectly safe. It is highly likely that you are going to have some _ugly bad_ bouts of morning sickness, and this tea will get you through the worst of it. Drink one cup every night before bed, and one cup every morning before you eat anything. If you feel nauseated, drink a cup as soon as possible." While she was explaining, Ling was taking pinches and scoops from a variety of glass jars and blending them into a large glass mason jar. The final ingredient was a single dried flower blossom, about the size of a gerbera daisy. Ling crumbled it between her hands and added it to the mélange. She handed the jar to Rose. "And here you go, dear."

"Thanks. What are those jars of salt about?" asked Rose looking at the colorful rows of crystal-filled jars on a table against the back curtain.

"Those are my famous bath salts. People come from all over the quadrant. Not that you probably need them, but these are the most popular," she said with a bit of a wicked grin as she opened a jar. Using a delicate porcelain soup spoon as a scoop she retrieved a small sample, and then waved it under Rose's nose.

"Oooh, that smells gorgeous." Rose's voice had a hint of a growl. She leaned into Ling's side and whispered with a grin, "What is this one for exactly? Although I think I have an idea."

"Pleasure enhancement," Ling whispered back and winked.

Rose furrowed her brows, deep in thought.

"What's wrong, love?" the Doctor asked, spinning around, feeling the confusion in his wife's mind.

"Smell these, Doctor. Do you recognize this smell, because I do, and it don't make no sense why..."

The Doctor inhaled deeply, drawing in the aroma of jasmine and alien spice. He looked at Rose, and then dug his hand into the jar, scooped up a few grains without asking, and put them on his tongue. He smacked his mouth a few times, and then shuddered in distaste. "Our wedding night, or more accurately, John and Jane's wedding night. These were left for our bath, weren't they?"

"How is that possible? I always assumed that Bess or Jack, Niles even, set up our room."

"But how would they get their hands on Madame Ling's Fantastical Fantasy Bath Salts, hmmm?" the Doctor asked with a half smile.

"It was us. We set up the room, didn't we?" Rose surmised quickly.

"Yes we did. Two bottles please, Ling, and make sure one of them has one of these little gift cards around the neck."

Ling smiled enigmatically. "I see you are up to your old wibbly wobbly timey wimey tricks, Doctor."

"Oh yes!" he smiled back. "So how much do we owe you, Ling?" the Doctor asked reaching into his pocket for a credit stick.

"I wouldn't dream of taking your money. It isn't nearly enough to thank you for what you did for us all. I'm so sorry about...everything. Romana was one of my best customers, and a dear friend."

"Thank you, Ling," he replied softly. "I'm the last one, you know...the last Gallifreyan and the last Time Lord."

"But Doctor, you are not the last." Ling looked down at Rose's belly. "Your Gallifreyan genes will be dominant. Your wife is carrying a full blooded Gallifreyan child, and when this child grows up and has a child, his... or her..." she added with a small smile, "child will be full blooded Gallifreyan, and so on."

"But that isn't the case, Ling. Human-Gallifreyan cross-breeding wasn't unheard of in the old days. Looked down upon to be sure, but human genetic traits were always present. Always," the Doctor disagreed.

"Ah, but you are forgetting something, Doctor. Because you are the last of your kind, and the drive amongst your species for survival is strong, and your genetic coding is different than any other species, this child knows it has to survive, and your genes _will_ dominate."

"How do you know all of this Ling?" the Doctor asked, eyebrows raised, on the offensive.

"I have my ways," she replied with a twinkle in her eye.

The Doctor knew when to back away from an argument. "Timey wimey?"

"Wibbly wobbly," Ling answered. "Now the two of you need to get back to that box of yours. You have a honeymoon to kick off." She winked at the pair, and handed them their treasures in a black silk shopping tote emblazoned with golden Chinese characters advertising her wares. "See you soon!"

oOo

"Mum, we're back," Rose announced as she and the Doctor stepped into the TARDIS and walked up the ramp, laden with bags. Rose sipped a strawberry-pineapple-boomboom fruit smoothie through a pink straw.

Jackie was sitting on the white seat holding a plain brown ceramic mug of tea in one hand and a half-eaten Jaffa Cake in the other. It was obvious she had been crying. Her eyes and nose were red, and her heavy eye makeup had been washed away. "Did you two have a nice time? Come on then, show me what you two bought."

Rose knew that it was not often her mother cried, and decided that she would talk to her about it later, in private. "Just some maternity clothes and baby stuff."

"_Just_? There is no _just_ about your first maternity clothes and baby togs, swee'hear'!" Jackie grabbed one of the larger parcels from the Doctor's hand and pulled out one of the six pair of infant shoes that the Doctor had purchased. She squealed in delight at the miniature footwear, and then moved onto the clothing that Rose had purchased for herself. "Rose, this is darling! What a gorgeous color. When I was pregnant, we didn't have nothing nearly as cute as this. Everythin' had big bows and ruffles, and ya felt like you were on display, or wrapped up like a big present with a sign over your head that said, 'Look at me! I'm pregnant,' as if people couldn't tell already."

Rose laughed, and relaxed a bit, seeing her mother's smile. "We had a nice time. It really was an amazing place Mum. There are these miniature Panda bears running wild. They were everywhere! They're kind of like squirrels, but nice. People feed 'em bamboo from park benches. One came up and nuzzled my leg!"

Jackie smiled at her daughter's story, but changed the subject. "Doctor, I'm sorry ya had to drag me along. You two are still on your honeymoon, and here I am, your daft mother-in-law, askin' ya ta take me with ya, and then I don' even go out..." Jackie said self-consciously.

"It's alright Jackie. And what I said before…I'm sorry about teasing you about being scared. And, I would be honored if you accompanied us again."

"Thank you Doctor, but I'm not sure I'm cut out for this time and space traveling thing. I think I'm more comfortable at home in front of the telly or cutting hair," Jackie explained. "I guess it hit me hard. My girl is a time traveler. It's one thing to hear about it, and another thing altogether to see it. And now my grandbaby is going to be out there amongst the stars too…"

"Jackie, I promise. I will keep them both safe. I promise."

"I know that Doctor. You've proven that to me. Ya don't need to keep tellin' me. I believe you," she said quietly, earnest. Her blue eyes showed her trust in him.

The Doctor smiled and nodded, silently accepting her apology. "Ready to go home, Jackie?" The Doctor and Rose again worked together to take the TARDIS into the vortex, back to 2007. "Rose and I have a short stop we have to make on the way back. It shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes, and I'll have you home before _Good Morning London_ is done."

"We're going now?" asked Rose.

"No time like the present, well past to be more accurate. And after we drop off your mum, we can go back to 1963, finish the book, and you can spend some time with Bess before she gets married."

"Alright... Oh! We should have our reception at the Tiki Tiki! Dancing, a luau..." Rose said, doing a few dance moves of the Twist.

"You're havin' a weddin' reception?" Jackie asked, trying to appear uninterested as she took a sip of her tea. "Could…could I come?"

"Uh, Jackie, I don't think bringing you there would be a good idea," the Doctor grimaced. "John and Jane Smith are a part of events, but introducing you into the mix…_dangerous_. Your parents live in London. In fact I bumped into your mother, didn't know who she was of course."

Jackie's eyes went wide. "You met my Mum? Where? When?"

"I'll tell you all about it another time. How about over Sunday dinner? You did say that we come to your place for Sunday dinner often, didn't you?"

"Sure," she said quietly.

"Oh! We're here already. Jackie, stay inside. Rose and I will be right back."

Rose picked up a rucksack that contained the bottle of bath salts and a special bottle of champagne from the vast TARDIS wine vault. The duo headed out the door into the dark, towards Torchwood House, armed with items necessary to reconcile John and Jane's wedding night to their own memories.

Back in the TARDIS, Jackie Tyler moped as she let her thoughts tumble. Sure, she got to see John and Jane's wedding. "But what is a wedding without a proper party with cake and dancing and drunken toasts?" she asked herself out loud.

* * *

Thanks for the additions to favorites and reviews. We are really gearing up for our move now. I haven't replied to everyone's reviews to chapter 2. (Do I sound like a broken record yet?) I WILL get to them, I always do, don't I?


	4. Two Estates Revisited

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 4 - Two Estates Revisited**

Author's Notes: Time is being re-written. If you remember that Rose and the Doctor originally set up the honeymoon suite when Rose was one month along, you are not dreaming things... things are changing...

* * *

The waxing moon was low in the sky and cast long, silvery shadows over the uninhabited landscape.

Hand-in-hand, the Doctor and Rose quickly made their way to Torchwood House. The Doctor had parked the TARDIS about a mile away from the property so that Jack would not be able to hear the distinctive droning of the engines. It was doubtful anyone else at the wedding reception of John and Jane Smith would have heard, let alone recognized, the sound of time materializing in their neighborhood, but he couldn't be too careful. He had found more batteries for the personal perception blocker necklaces. They could now move about without fear of being seen, heard, smelled, felt or tasted, and could even communicate telepathically without fear of the Family or other telepathically gifted individuals recognizing them.

They had made quick time, half running and half walking to the stone manor. The music from the ceilidh band from the village echoed over the field as the couple drew close to the imposing stone home.

As they stole past a series of open windows, Rose had a difficult time containing her giggles as she heard Jack telling a mildly naughty story to a group of old men who howled with boisterous laughter. They found an out-of-the-way entrance to the rear of the home near the kitchen. The Doctor and Rose entered the kitchen unnoticed to obtain two crystal champagne flutes and leave them on the counter.

They both paused, sucking in their collective breath. Niles had Bess pushed up against the wall. They were clenched together in a steamy kiss. Niles grabbed Bess's leg and pulled it up around his waist, and the hint of Jane's bridal garter could be seen on her thigh. Jane's bridal bouquet, which Bess had caught earlier, was on the kitchen table.

The Doctor blushed and averted his eyes, but Rose continued to watch until her husband grabbed her hand, pulling her away to find a back stairway.

"I didn't know you were a voyeur," he said, his voice low and sexy.

"I'm not a voyeur, I am happy for them. That was the night they made up, and seeing it happenin' was really romantic," she said genuinely. "Besides, it's about time I got to see her in action. She heard about about you 'n me. S'only fair," Rose added.

"What? Whaddya mean she heard about you and me?"

Rose showed him her memories of Jane and Bess's first conversation, when Jane had admitted she was physically attracted to John. Next she showed him the night of her first kiss, and Jane's shy but completely charming recollection to Bess.

Neither of them could stop smiling as they made their up the creaky wooden staircase that had no doubt been used by the servants for hundreds of years. Finally, they reached the honeymoon suite they had shared as John and Jane less than two days before. But before they went inside, the Doctor firmly grasped Rose by the shoulders and pushed her up against the heavy wood door. The rucksack that Rose had slung over her shoulder slid off, and landed on the wood floor with a quiet thud. He kissed her until she was breathless and then nuzzled against her neck.

"What was that for?" she asked between pants, with her head thrown back against the door.

"Was thinking about what we did behind this door, and...cos I can." He stole one more kiss. "Come on, let's go in and get this over with so we can finish what we just started, hmm?"

They hurried into the room and attacked their tasks with vigor. The Doctor laid a fire while Rose tended to the bed. She pulled the linens back and tossed fragrant pink and yellow rose petals all over the bed, and then made a petal-strewn path from the bed to the door. She picked up her rucksack, and dug around until she found the tall pearlescent bottle of Madame Ling's Pleasure Enhancing Bath Salts and disappeared into the en suite.

The Doctor placed a dozen subtly scented candles throughout the room and lit them with his sonic.

The Doctor turned to see his wife walking nervously out of the bathroom. He could feel Rose's giddy mood had suddenly changed.

"I still can't figure out how this works, Doctor. Isn't it a paradox? Us leavin' all this stuff here for ourselves to use? Setting up the room and all? It's like some never-endin' circle. They use the stuff because we put it here because they used it because we set it up. See? It just goes on and on and on! What if Jane decides she doesn't want smelly water and doesn't use 'em, or if John thinks they smell too girlie or somethin'? What if one of the candles gets snuffed out by a draught because they open a window that we left closed and they look to see why the light went out, and because of that they don't snog as long as they shoulda and do somethin' else instead, and a chain reaction happens? Will that change our history? What if–"

"Rose, hold on, stop!" He silenced his nervous wife with a gentle touch to her lips. "But we did use them, so no paradox, right? If we hadn't have used them, we wouldn't be setting up the room like this, right? And no, snuffing out one candle is not going to change history...in this case. Now one time on Moses II, a candle being snuffed out was the cause of a civil-"

"Not helping, Doctor."

"I promise, it will be okay." He hugged Rose and kissed her forehead, and then moved to push the bottle of fine champagne into the silver ice bucket next to the bed. "Why so nervous now? You were fine when we left the TARDIS."

"I'm scared that something is gonna happen and I won't get pregnant tonight, and with our little one implanting just this morning..." she answered quietly, rubbing her nervous stomach. "If one little thing doesn't happen perfectly right, will our baby just disappear?" She surveyed the room.

"You're borrowing worry from tomorrow, love. Well yesterday, or two days ago, actually," the Doctor said scratching the side of his face. "Hold on." He looked around the room nervously, and then approached Rose. "Something is off..."

"Whaddya mean, _off_?" she asked nervously.

"Not off...it's more like...time's been re-written again. Felt it at Jackie's yesterday when she was surprised that you were pregnant, and I'm feeling it again now. I think...I think that the room was set up by us further in the future for some reason. I really don't think it's a problem." He scowled in thought. "But why? What is causing all of these re-writes? It feels...weird. Wibbly wobbly...ish." He pulled out his sonic and waved it over Rose's stomach. "No problems here. Our wee one is perfectly safe."

Rose again rubbed her stomach, but still wasn't satisfied that everything was alright.

"Rose, I promise, everything is going to work out exactly as it should. I would never ever risk the life of our child. What we are doing is completely one hundred percent safe." The Doctor kissed Rose on the nose, and fondly touched her still flat stomach. "Right my little Jamie or Zoe? Let Mummy know you're going to be fine," he asked bending over to kiss her tummy.

Rose felt a wave of warmth in her mind from her husband, and a glimmer of something new. She looked at the Doctor. He had felt it too. "Was that our...son? We're having a boy, aren't we?" Rose put her hands to her mouth and laughed through tears of joy.

He nodded. "It was," he said with awe. "First contact, love. He has let us know he's here and safe. A boy... He's a boy, Rose!" The Doctor bounced on his feet and then pulled Rose into a crushing embrace. Together they welcomed their son to their family, enveloping him with love. "I would've been just as happy if he were a she, you know," he added, kissing her soundly. "I really hate to leave, but we have to go."

Rose wiped her happy tears from her eyes. "That it then? Did we forget anything?"

The Doctor pressed his tongue against the back of his teeth as he thought. "Fire, rose petals, aphrodisiac bath salts, jasmine scented candles to cover the musty smell of a five hundred year old house, champagne, crystal goblets left on the kitchen counter . . . Oh!" He remembered something. He went into John's luggage and pulled out a blue and white striped pajama top. He waved it in front of Rose. "Almost forgot this." He waggled his eyebrows and draped it casually across the tufted bench at the foot of the bed.

"You sure do have a thing for that top," Rose said huskily as she snaked her arms up around his neck and kissed her husband's sideburn.

"You have no idea, Rose," he said with a half grin. "John nearly popped his cork when he saw Jane wearing that the night she stayed over."

"Yeah, well the feeling was pretty mutual, Doctor. Jane nearly assaulted him in her sleep, remember?"

They both laughed and then sighed, still slightly melancholy at the memory.

"Not even a chameleon arch procedure could keep us apart, hmm?" The Doctor ran his hands down Rose's back and squeezed her bum, pulling her close. "Just one more proof that John was really me."

"And Jane was me."

"I really do have a thing for you in my clothes, you know," he whispered into her mouth.

"Well what are we waiting for then? Let's get me out of these clothes and into some of yours. How does a strategically placed ridiculously long striped scarf sound?" Rose said, seductively.

"Oooh, going retro," the Doctor growled. "Or how about Swinging Bachelor Boss and Not So Innocent Girl From the Typing Pool? You put on Jane's glasses, put your hair up in a knot with a couple of pencils...be coy and shy, I'll seduce you, and then we tumble onto the orange sofa in my swanky wood paneled office to the strains of Bobby Darin..."

"Mmm, sounds fun, but...we have to drop Mum off at home first..."

"Right," he replied, deflated. "Oh! Speaking of retro, after Bess and Niles's wedding how would you like to come back to 1979 Scotland and see Ian Dury?"

"You are just a big old punk, aren't you? With a bit of rockabilly thrown in!"

Rose laughed when the Doctor screeched a bit of _Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick._

"You know, something tells me we haven't seen the last of this place," he said with frowning suddenly.

"I had the strangest dream when I was Jane. I just remembered it! The night before our wedding, I dreamed that you and I were here, at Torchwood, and there was this really creepy werewolf! I was locked in the basement with it and-"

"Tch, tch, tch." The Doctor held up his hand to halt her from speaking, and manically pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He fiddled with it and waved it around the room. "Time echo. We need to get out of here before we see any more of the future. That wasn't a dream, Rose. Jane saw our future. They're coming soon anyway. Let's get your mother back home, and then find your glasses and typewriter. Allons-y," he growled as he grabbed his wife's hand.

Together, they fled down the back stairs, and out into the darkness to their waiting TARDIS.

oOo

"So what did the two of you have to do? Ya ran outta here so fast. Why'd ya have champagne and roses and stuff?" Jackie asked as the Doctor and Rose tumbled into the TARDIS laughing.

"We...had to do some things to make sure that John and Jane's wedding night was..." Rose searched for the right word.

"Successful," the Doctor offered.

"Yeah, that's right, successful," Rose looked up her husband, smiled, and leaned on his shoulder.

"I don't get it, but you do, and I guess that's what matters." Jackie sat back down and crossed her arms, not able to meet their eyes.

"Ready to go home, Jackie?" the Doctor asked kindly.

"Yeah." Jackie sighed heavily and looked around the console room.

The time rotor glowed green and began to jerk up and down, and the familiar groaning sounded like a fifteen year old unsuccessfully trying to work the sticky clutch of an old manual transmission.

"What's wrong with her, Doctor? She sounds...sick or something."

"I don't know, love," the Doctor replied, quickly trying to discern the issue. Without warning, the grinding sound halted, and the TARDIS once again sounded like herself.

"Oh. She's okay now. Not sure what the problem was, but whatever it was, it's resolved. Let's get outta here."

Rose joined her husband at the controls and together they piloted out of Scotland 1963 and into 2007 London, the Powell Estate. It didn't take long before the ship had dematerialized.

"So will you come around for dinner on Sunday then like ya promised?" Jackie asked hopefully as she gathered her belongings.

Rose joined her and together they walked down the ramp.

"We'll be there, Jackie," the Doctor replied without looking up or leaving the controls, intently programming the TARDIS for their next trip.

"I'll make something really nice. You like my roast turkey. How does that sound?" Jackie looked back over her shoulder at the Doctor as Rose opened the door for her mother.

"Sure. Turkey," the Doctor replied, not paying full attention to Jackie.

No sooner had the women left the TARDIS, than they were back inside.

"Doctor, you didn't land us at my mum's flat. Not sure where we are, but it isn't home." Rose leaned against the railing, unconcerned.

"Bloody warm out for February, too. And there are flowers blooming everywhere," Jackie added.

The Doctor looked up from the console and slowly took his glasses off. _"I think we have a problem."_

_"What exactly do you mean by problem?"_

The Doctor studied the monitor and flipped a few switches.

_"No, it isn't a problem. It's a big stinking problem. When we hit the chronoturbulence landing in Scotland 1963, the secondary chronostabilizer servo was damaged. She won't budge."_

_"We aren't where or when we're supposed to be are we? It seems like its late spring maybe. Too warm for February, like mum said...and there are springtime flowers blooming all over the place, and we ain't at the Estate, that's for sure."_

_"Well...technically, we are at the Estate...where it'll be built in a few years. Just...not when we are supposed to be there."_

"Doctor, where and when are we?" Rose asked under her breath.

"We missed the date a bit."

"Doctor, just spit it out. Where the bleedin' hell are we?" Jackie put her hands on her hips and marched up to him.

He rubbed his neck nervously. "It is Thursday, May 23."

"Four months? You brought me back four months late?" Jackie laughed. "Well, just turn this thing around and take me back. This is a time machine after all."

"I don't appreciate you calling the TARDIS a time machine. That term diminishes the-"

"Stop stallin' and tell me, you git!" Jackie growled through gritted teeth.

"No, not four months late." He forced a smile and put his hands in his pockets. "We are forty-three years, eight months, twenty-two days...uh...early."

"Rose, that husband of yours is gettin' ta be a really bad driver in his old age. He's gonna get his license revoked one of these days." Jackie teased with a bitter edge.

Rose laughed nervously. She didn't relish being in the Doctor's shoes right now. She had a feeling that the full truth was going to earn the Doctor a slap, or worse. _"Doctor, you can fix that chronothingie, right?"_

The Doctor didn't answer immediately. He leaned heavily against the console and then dropped his head in frustration. "We can travel in space. Well, when I say in space I mean a distance radius of oh, one thousand Earth miles give or take five hundred, and as for time travel..." He looked at a suddenly very nervous Jackie.

"Just spill it!" Jackie shouted. There was a fire in her eyes that he had only see once before. He braced himself for the inevitable.

"We can time travel in increments of about," he swallowed hard, "forty-eight hours within a range of said one thousand miles-give or take five hundred-once every..." he gulped and managed to squeak the next three words, "sixty-seven hours."

Jackie didn't say a word, and simply stared at the alien, unblinking. She opened her mouth to speak, but then snapped it shut. She did this again. Twice.

The Doctor swallowed hard and took two halting steps in Jackie's direction. He put his hands on her shoulders. "Jackie." He paused and looked over at Rose, who smiled at him sympathetically and laid a hand on his arm and squeezed. "Jackie, the TARDIS needs some maintenance. I am relatively confident that I can get the parts that I need right here in London, and I _will_ be able to fix this. It will take time, though. She needs to rest. She's been through a lot. I must have overtaxed her with the shielding I put into place to hide us from the Family."

Jackie pushed the Doctor's hands off of her shoulders angrily. She closed her eyes and with lightning fast recoil, drew back her arm and slapped the Doctor.

But unlike the first time she slapped him when he wore leather, this time he took it without protest. He closed his eyes and hung his head. Rose rubbed his back and watched as her mother walked out of the front door.

They both followed her into the midday light, and took a look around the neighborhood, which in a few years time, would be developed into a government-built council estate for those of limited income. As it was now, pleasant looking but deteriorating Victorian era homes stood side by side up and down the quiet street. Every once in a while, a slow-moving vehicle would pass by. A toddler sat with her mother on the steps five houses down eating an apple. In one of the nearby homes, _Love Me Do_ was playing.

"At least the music is good in 1963," Rose said with a nervous laugh. "Mum, did I tell you Jane met Bobby Darin?"

Jackie sniffed, unimpressed.

"And the clothes are really gorgeous. And I know how much you love big hair...doesn't get much bigger than 1963. And they still use aerosol hairspray. Nothing holds like aerosol."

"Never mind the ozone layer. But your hair will look good as the planet slowly asphyxiates from oxygen deprivation and greenhouse gas buildup." The Doctor chuckled, but Jackie glared at him even more fiercely.

"How long we stuck then?" Jackie finally asked.

"Jackie, I'm sorry. I really am. It isn't the end of the world, though. I have a great car here, a gorgeous flat, a good job. The TARDIS can make short hops, so we can go to Paris, Spain...I can take you to Barcelona! Ooh! Tapas!"

"How...long...are...we...stuck?" she asked, punctuating each word.

The Doctor sighed in resignation. "Assuming I can get the parts I need, the TARDIS will take at least six months to heal."

"Six months. Six months. Six bloody months." She slapped him again.

"Mum! Ya didn't need to slap him a second time! Once was bad enough." Rose moved between her husband and mother, and rubbed his cheek, and then followed it up with a small kiss. "Travellin' isn't always simple or easy. Sometimes it's messy and unpredictable. Have a sense of adventure, Mum."

"A sense of adventure?" Rose winced as Jackie screeched. "Really, Rose? I think with all of your...so-called adventures, you've forgotten what it means to be just a regular person! What kind of a person turns into a different...person? Cos that's whatcha did! Becomin' that Jane girl...and him! Him! Turnin' himself human? Shoulda stayed human if ya ask me! Woulda been an improvement!"

"Well now. Jackie Tyler's true colors..." The Doctor crossed his arms and straightened his back, tipping his nose ever so slightly upward.

"Mum! Doctor! Both of you, calm down! I know that's not how either of ya really feel. Mum, ya shoulda seen me when the Doctor took me to the end of the Earth...I thought I'd pass out from the shock of seein' all o' those different people. One guy was blue, and there were tree people, Mum! Not people who live in trees, walkin' talkin' trees! And don't get me started about that Face of Boe thing. A giant floating head in a jar. So I do understand what you're feelin'! It's culture shock. Of course you're afraid. At least we're in London, and we will be cared for, and Bess and Niles are here, and...and-"

"But you went willin'! I'm stuck here!" Jackie cried, throwing her hands up in the air.

"But you heard him Mum, he can fix it. It will just take time. Besides...we'll be together, yeah? You'll get to see the baby growin' and be a part of all of that grandma stuff, right?" Rose put a comforting arm around her mother and guided her to a bus stop bench. Both women sat down. The Doctor stood off to the side, hands deep in his pockets.

Jackie's lips quirked into a lopsided smile. "Did you really meet Bobby Darin?"

"We did," he nodded, one eyebrow lifted, as he regained his excitement. "And the Tiki Tiki Club has fantastic entertainment almost every night. I saw Dean Martin right before I met Jane. How about we go tonight Rose? Jackie? Wait! You can't be Jackie. Too much risk of corrupting the timelines if a Jackie Tyler suddenly appears. Who are you going to be? Jane didn't have any family did she?"

Rose shook her head.

"How about Jane's deceased mother's best friend from nursing school? No, you aren't the nurse type. Uh, Jane's mother's...best friend. That's good! And she's a hairdresser. And I know you will get bored, won't you Jackie? Maybe you could get a job as a hairdresser...not that you need the money, because I will make sure you are financially cared for, but just for fun! Think of all of the hairspray!"

Jackie laughed in spite of herself. "You're right about the hairspray, that's for sure. Yes. I'd love to go to this Tiki place with the two of ya. But what will I wear?"

"Don't worry about that, Mum. The TARDIS wardrobe will get you sorted," Rose said. Her voice was much lighter now that her mother seemed to be feeling better.

"Everybody back into the TARDIS. I'm going to move us to the flat. Rose, why don't you call Bess and tell her we're back in town. I think I'll park the TARDIS on the rooftop terrace of the flat. That way we can keep up appearances as John and Jane, while I make repairs. We can stay in the flat or the TARDIS...either way...doesn't matter to me. Do you have a preference, love?"

"I wouldn't mind staying in the flat, actually. _Remember your fantasy about John's big...big...bed?"_

"Flat it is!" he said, voice a bit higher than normal. "Jackie, you can stay in the TARDIS. She will fix up a beautiful room for you."

"I have to sleep in the ship? Why do I have to sleep in the ship? Why can't I sleep in the flat with the two o' you?"

"Only one bedroom, Mum. You'd have to sleep on the sofa," Rose said.

"A proper hostess offers the bedroom to her guest," Jackie lectured. "Why don't the two of you stay in the TARDIS. You got a nice bedroom in there. Right posh with that star ceiling and huge bathtub big enough for doin' all sort of fun things in."

"When have you been in our bedroom?" the Doctor whinged.

"Oh, I went explorin' a bit on that ship of yours while the two of you were on Shing Shong."

"Shan Shen, Mum."

"Shin Shen. Whatever."

"Where else did you explore?" the Doctor asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh lots of places! That swimmin' pool room with the slides and the cave with those glowy rocks. That's plum gorgeous! I took the elevator down and poked around in the cave. Looks like the two of you have a regular love nest in there." Jackie winked at Rose, who blushed fiercely.

The Doctor groaned and scrubbed his hand down his face. _"Is she going to defile every single place we have been intimate?"_

_"She hasn't been in the butterfly garden," _Rose replied with eager hope.

"And that butterfly room? That is beautiful, Doctor! I haven't ever seen a butterfly with round wings before!"

The Doctor groaned.

oOo

"Bess? It's Rose. We're here!...Yeah, here in London, 1963...He parked the TARDIS on the roof of John's flat...No it won't fall through the ceiling!...I don't know why it doesn't fall through...You did? Thanks so much!" Rose turned to the Doctor. "Bess brought all of our wedding stuff that we left at Torchwood and put it in the flat, and all of my clothes and things from my room at her place too, before she knew we were going to change back into us."

"Brilliant!" His face briefly lit up and then become once again earnest as he returned his attention to the tiny, burnt-out device he was examining.

_"Doctor, can I tell Bess about Mum? Mum already knows who she is now."_

_"Yeah, go ahead. The timelines are so knotted up anyway..." _he sighed. _"I don't see any problem telling her."_

"Bess, I have another bit of news for you too. We have someone with us." Rose sighed. My mum is with us...Yeah. My mum...well, uh...they got along pretty well..." She looked over at the Doctor and then her mother, who was outside on the terrace, drinking a cup of tea. "Yeah...She wanted to see John and Jane get married and well, somethin' happened to the TARDIS and we couldn't get Mum back home before we came here. We're stuck in 1963. We're gonna be here for about six months while the TARDIS heals."

The Doctor smiled as he heard happy squealing on the other end of Rose's mobile phone, as Bess voiced her excitement.

"I'm sorry about the flat, I know we gave it to the two of you as a wedding gift...yeah...since we're back we kind of need to stay here to keep up appearances."

The Doctor grabbed Rose's phone. "Hello Bess! I promise, I'm still giving Niles Sexy II, but I just need her while we're here."

Rose rolled her eyes and but could hear Bess laughing in the background. The Doctor handed the phone back to Rose with a smile.

"Yeah, we're gonna finish the book while we're here. Have to...we found a copy in 2007," Rose laughed. "No, I'm not going to tell you if it was successful or not!" She laughed harder.

The Doctor proudly smiled and winked at Rose, and then grabbed the mobile again.

"Rude," Rose mouthed.

"Bess, we're taking Jackie to the Tiki Tiki tonight. You and Niles come along?...Seven at the Tiki Tiki. Here's Rose." He handed the phone back to Rose with finality. He picked up the item he had been examining, took it into the kitchen and put it in the freezer.

"Bye Bess, see ya tonight!" Rose smiled as she rang off and pushed her phone into the pocket of her hip-hugging jeans. "Well, guess I had better get changed into something more fitting for 1963. What time is it?"

"Uh, it's 2:15," the Doctor replied.

"So, just how domestic do you wanna be? Marketing for groceries? Milk delivery? Or do you wanna rely on the TARDIS?" Rose asked, leaning on the familiar, yet somewhat unfamiliar white Formica countertop of John's kitchen, now theirs.

"I hate to say it, but I think the whole shebang. Ooo...shhhhhebang...I like that. Think I'll keep that one. The TARDIS is going to need as much rest as possible. I'm going to take her nearly completely offline except for bedroom, wardrobe and the infirmary so I can monitor our son. I don't want the old girl to tax herself building a new room. Maybe one of the old rooms. She might like Jo's old room..."

"Too bad my room isn't still available, but somehow I don't think she'd fancy sleeping in a nursery." Rose snorted a laugh.

When Rose and the Doctor had left Barcelona, they had both been surprised to find that Rose's room was gone, replaced by a room obviously meant for a baby. The Doctor had smirked and chastised his ship for her cheek and unsubtle hint.

"So...where am I gonna sleep then?" Jackie had quietly joined them inside at some point and had heard the sleeping arrangements conversation.

_"I don't want her in our bed, Rose! We are going to do married things in that bed! I do not want to be able to smell your mum's perfume in that bed when I am about to-"_

"I have an idea, Doctor. What if I ask Bess if Mum can stay in Jane's old bedroom?" Rose suggested quickly. "Bess's flat is only three blocks away. She is hardly ever there, and now that she's gettin' married in a couple of weeks, well, Mum could have complete privacy while we are stuck...er...living here in London. Whaddya think Mum?" Rose bit her lip and played with her fingers nervously.

"Well...what's her flat like? I don't wanna live in some ugly old flat."

"It's posh, Mum, Bess is rich." Rose smirked a bit. "Jane's room has a window overlooking the street, and it's close to the shops and the bus and-"

"I'm gonna have to take the bus? What about that fancy car of his that he keeps bragging on and on about? What about that?" Jackie protested.

"The back seat is," Rose cleared her throat, "teeny and well, I don't know that you would be all that comfortable."

"Now you're sayin' I'm fat?" Jackie screeched.

"I am not, Mum," Rose screeched right back. "I can hardly fit back there!"

"Only been here an hour and you're already shovin' me out in the cold like an old, irritatin' cat!" Jackie crossed her arms angrily.

"Mum, you can take a taxi for all I care. You'll have money! I really doubt you're gonna wanna spend every waking moment with us!" Rose was becoming angry with her mother's stubbornness to even try and make things work. "You're going to want to make a life here. I did, you know, and I was only Jane for one month! Look what I did in that month! I worked a job, made the best girlfriend I have ever had, met John. I even got kidnapped-"

"Kidnapped? What do you mean you got kidnapped?" Jackie's eyes went wide as she asked the question, dropping hard onto the black leather Le Courbusier sofa.

"Uh...yeah...John kidnapped my heart..." Rose tried to cover, unsure why she had let that slip out. She turned and made a sheepish face at the Doctor.

"Rose Tyler, you have never been a good liar. Who kidnapped you?"

"It was Daniel Higgins, Mum, and I really don't want to talk about it. I'm gonna go change." Rose quickly left the lounge and headed for the en suite bathroom off of the master bedroom.

"Doctor? Are you going to explain what happened to my daughter?" Jackie's eyes seared into him.

"No. Rose needs to be the one to tell you. Rose and I discussed this earlier, and mutually decided to hold off telling you about the incident until she was ready to talk about it. Please don't push her, alright?"

Jackie's eyes softened. "Was she hurt?"

"No, not physically." The Doctor sat down on a black leather chair and rested his elbows on his knees, propping his head in his hands. "She hasn't talked to me about it much either, Jackie. I have respected that and not tried to read her feelings, either."

"What do you mean? You can read her mind?"

He chuckled. "Something like that. So, Jackie, you haven't said. What do you think of my place?" he asked, changing the subject abruptly.

"It's nice, I suppose. Not really to my taste. A bit...stark. Looks like a swinging bachelor pad if you ask me."

"Why thank you! That is exactly what it's supposed to look like! I'm sure Rose will put her mark on it now that it's our place."

"I'm still mad at you, you know," Jackie said, pointing her finger at him.

"I imagine you are."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, and then Rose emerged dressed for 1963. Jackie's eyebrows rose, and the Doctor smiled proudly.

"See, I told you the clothes are gorgeous. You like it?" Rose spun in a circle for her mother.

"Oh swee'hear' you look lovely!"

"Thanks Mum. This was Jane's favorite dress. It's real Mary Quant!" Rose was wearing the sleeveless orange dress that shy Jane had worn the night that John sat by her in the darkened cinema, the same night that she he had blurted out a false identity-Rose Tyler.

"It's the Rose Tyler movie dress!" the Doctor said with a grin.

"Mum, let's go get some clothes for you in the wardrobe to hold ya over 'til we can go shoppin', and then...maybe you could help me with my hair?"

"Sure." Jackie smiled tightly and followed Rose out onto the terrace to the TARDIS.

The Doctor let his jaw drop, closed his eyes, and dropped back against the chair in frustration._ "Six months with your mum just might take a regeneration out of me, Rose."_

_"It'll get better, Doctor. Let's take it one day at a time, yeah?"_

_"Yeah...and each and every one of those days is going to feel like an eternity."_

* * *

__Thanks for the reviews. I know the story has been a little slow to start, but we're in the thick of it now, boys and girls! Will be replying to your lovely reviews of chapter 3 tonight. I got a muse infusion, and decided to write while the muse was happy.


	5. Dearest Friends Revisited

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 5 - Dearest Friends Revisited**

* * *

When Jackie Tyler walked into the TARDIS wardrobe, the first thing she did was whisper an expletive of shock under her breath. The second thing she did was turn to Rose and ask her why in the bloody hell she had never brought her here before. She didn't wait for an answer from her daughter, instead choosing to find her size and start pulling period-appropriate clothing off of the racks by the armful.

"This place is better than Henrik's old bargain room! How am I gonna choose? They're all so gorgeous!"

It took forty-five minutes for Jackie to finally narrow down her choices for tonight's dinner to two frocks. The first was a black sequined wiggle dress, and while the neckline was modest, it looked like it was painted on. The second was a ruby red, full-skirted red cocktail dress with a neckline that would show off more cleavage than most probably wanted to see.

"Fun isn't it?" Rose grinned as her mother held up the dresses on the hangers in front of her, alternating several times between the black and the red. "I sort of like the black. The red is pretty, but Mum, that neckline is pretty revealing, even for you."

"But it covers up more in other places. Question is, do I wanna show off my curves, or my chest?" She closed one eye and cocked her head as she thought and stared at herself in the mirror.

"Make up your mind, Mum, we gotta get goin'. The Doctor made seven o'clock reservations."

"I'm gonna go with the...red. So where do you keep the makeup and hairspray?"

Inwardly, Rose groaned at her mother's choice, but then realized she would have groaned at either of them.

oOo

After Jackie failed at several attempts to get into the backseat of the Doctor's midnight blue Aston Martin DB5, Rose volunteered to climb into the back, offering the front seat to her mother.

"I see what ya mean about the backseat, Rose. It's impossibly small. Why in the world would you ever get this car, Doctor?" Jackie asked.

"I was a bachelor, Jackie. I wanted to impress women, of course. And generally speaking, a swinging bachelor doesn't bring his mother-in-law out on a date," he smirked.

Jackie crossed her arms and huffed.

_"Did she have to wear that dress, Rose? Her bosom is falling out!" _whinged the Doctor.

_"Mum has always been a bit...free when it comes to displaying her assets, Doctor. Sorry, I tried to talk her out of it, but you shoulda seen the other one. Looked like she'd been dipped in black paint."_

_"Well I am not going to dance with her, you hear me? It isn't going to happen, Rose Tyler!"_

_"I doubt she'll have a problem finding dance partners with that dress," _Rose snorted out loud.

The Doctor sputtered a laugh and met Rose's laughing eyes in the rear view mirror.

"Here we are! The Tiki Tiki Club! Oh, and your name, by the way, is..." He looked off into the distance as he thought. "Your name is Millicent Miller, Millie for short."

Jackie sucked in a nervous breath. "Millie Miller? Where'd you hear that name?"

Millicent Miller was the name that Jack Harkness on Christmas Eve 2006 had given to Jackie when he snuck Rose and Jackie into Torchwood the day of the thwarted Sycorax invasion. Jack, as a Torchwood operative, had saved Rose and Jackie's lives that Christmas Eve. The next morning, Jack had taken Rose to Cardiff to hide her from Torchwood director, Yvonne Hartman. The Doctor shouldn't have been able to know this name. His future self had tucked these memories away from both himself and Rose to be unlocked by a very specific set of circumstances which had not yet occurred.

"How about something different," Jackie suggested, trying to sound casual. "Had a neighbor at the Estate for a while whose name was Millicent. Really nice person but sort of a...tragic story. What about...Ginger? Ginger Miller? Matches my personality. Fiery!" She growled and the Doctor whimpered a little bit at the disturbing mental images he suddenly couldn't erase from his mind of his cougar mother-in-law.

Rose sat in the back seat, deep in thought. "Mum, didn't Millie have a sister named Daisy? The sister was a lot younger, and everyone used to gossip that Daisy was really Millie's daughter and they were in hiding from her murderin' criminal husband…in witness protection or something?"

"Yeah, that's it. Bad luck that name," Jackie added quickly. Daisy Miller was the name that Jack had given Rose, and she had to pose as Millie's sister. Rose should not have remembered any of this.

"Whatever you say, _Ginger_," the Doctor smirked.

He advanced his car in the queue for the parking valet, got out and handed the keys to the attendant. With none of his usual quickness, the Doctor slowly got out and walked around the front of the car and opened the door for Jackie. Gracelessly, he pulled her out of the low vehicle. Jackie made an 'oof' sound as she heaved herself out, and tottered on her four inch heels with the ridiculously pointy toes. The Doctor then carefully helped Rose out of the backseat.

"Not gonna be able to ride back there much longer. Can you see me rolling out of there when I'm six months gone?" Rose commented as she looped her arm through the Doctor's, and for the first time since the ill-fated night that they announced their engagement, they walked into the Tiki Tiki Club.

"John Smith! How's my favorite Scottish guy who writes science fiction?" Robert Nakamura heartily shook the Doctor's hand, and then noticed the wedding band on his finger. "Don't tell me you married this guy," he joked with Rose before pumping John's hand even more vigorously.

"Aye, she did!" the Doctor said, affecting the Scottish accent that the TARDIS had given John Smith. "But my lovely wife's name isn't Rose. Her real name is Jane. It's a rather funny story, really," he said, tugging at his ear.

Rose blushed. "I was so timid when I met John that I faked my name. Called myself Rose Tyler instead. But he figured out my deception quick enough, and forgave me too…" Rose turned to the Doctor and smiled at him lovingly.

"Your story sounds like it's out of one of your books, John! How long have you been married?"

"Just since Monday. We got married up in Scotland," the Doctor answered, accent thick and melting Rose from the inside out. _"You like it when I talk like John, don't you?"_

"_I think you can tell exactly how I feel about that accent, Doctor," _Rose replied, psychically running her fingers along his neck. He shivered visibly.

"Have you had a reception yet?"

"Well, we had an impromptu celebration up in Scotland, but nothing yet in London. Speaking of which, I was going to ask if I could book the Club sometime in the next few weeks for a proper reception." The Doctor wanted to make good on his promise to Jane, to plan their wedding reception and hold it at the Tiki Tiki Club.

"Name your night, and I'll book the best entertainment I can get!" Robert offered warmly and the turned to motion to a nearby server. "Alice, champagne and Mai Tais for the Smith table please, and dinner is on me!"

"Oh, you don't have to do that, Mr. Nakamura!" Rose protested.

"If I remember correctly the last time you graced us Mrs. Smith, I asked you to call me Robert," he said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Then you have to call me Jane!" Rose countered with a wide smile, tilting her head.

"Your friends are already here, John. But you haven't introduced me to your other lovely guest."

The Doctor frowned for a moment. "Oh, right. Sorry. This is Ja-Ginger Miller. She is Jane's late mother's best friend. She was at the wedding and will be," he swallowed and blinked hard, "staying with us for a few months. Miss Miller, this is Robert Nakamura, a good friend of mine, and the owner of this fine establishment."

"Charmed." Jackie dipped her head, extended a limp hand and batted her eyes at him.

"Mr. Nakamura and his _wife _own this restaurant, Ginger," the Doctor said with a cold smile.

Jackie somewhat sheepishly withdrew her hand from Robert's polite squeeze.

"Follow me please." Alice guided the party to their table where Bess and Niles were already seated.

Bess and Niles both quickly stood from the table. Bess hugged Rose, and Niles and the Doctor shook hands and patted each other on the back. There was a sixth place at the table, unoccupied, the Doctor noticed.

"Niles, Bess, I'd like you to meet my mum, Jackie Tyler. But for now, she needs to be known as Jane's mum's best friend, Ginger Miller. And we need to be John and Jane in public...at work and stuff, alright?" Rose explained quietly.

"Understood," Niles said with a serious nod.

"So, Ginger, how are you enjoying London?" Bess asked with a small, knowing smile.

"Well...I'm feeling a bit upside down to be honest. Not sure how ta talk, how ta act. Is this dress too much? And my hair? And makeup? And I have to sleep in that ship of theirs on top of it all cos that bachelor pad flat of his," Jackie said, pointing a thumb at the Doctor, "only has one bedroom and they won't let me have it, never mind the fact that they practically have a suite more posh than anything at the Ritz for a bedroom. You should see the place! Their bathtub is big enough for four people, and there's a waterfall! A real honest to goodness waterfall."

Rose drew in a deep breath, continuing to be frustrated by her mother's uncooperative attitude.

"So Jackie," Bess ignored Jackie's poor disposition. "Tell me what it's like having an alien for a son-in-law."

"Oh don't get me started!" Jackie replied, leaning on the table towards Bess, further exposing her ample assets.

"Here we go..." the Doctor said under his breath.

"He whisked your daughter away from you, right? Always off saving the world, or the whole universe even, from what I've heard..." Bess said slyly, taking an elegant sip of champagne.

"Well he is very good at saving people, that's for sure," Jackie conceded. "And it's plain as day that he loves my daughter with both of his hearts...he has two hearts, did you know that?"

"I did not know that! That is fascinating!" Bess looked at the Doctor with wide eyes. He smiled right back at her, recognizing Bess for her mastery of subtle persuasion. "And that idea to hide themselves? That was genius! From what I understand it was a very painful process. They both sacrificed quite a lot to save each other's lives." Bess noticed that Jackie was beginning to relax her firmly set jaw. "And you should have seen how devoted John was to Jane. It was beautiful Jackie. Really and truly beautiful to witness their romance blossom. I have never seen two people more in love in my entire life." Bess spoke with complete sincerity and the purest of intentions.

Jackie's face softened completely. Bess, in one minute, had effectively calmed down Jackie Tyler, and reminded her just what kind of man her daughter had chosen as a husband. The table was quiet for a minute while everyone regained their composure.

Jackie looked at the Doctor with a look of penitence on her face. "Sorry for bein' such a plum, Doctor. It ain't your fault we're stuck here, and ya did save my daughter's life."

The Doctor smiled and nodded his acceptance. "Thank you Jackie. I'll do everything I can to get you back home as soon as I can."

"So..." Rose said, wiping a single tear away, happy to see her mother and husband were hopefully on the mend. "Bess and Niles, when is the big day? When are you two tying the knot?"

"Three weeks from Saturday. We're going to be married at the church you and John were going to be married in originally, before...well, before everything happened." Bess wasn't sure how much Rose had shared with her mother about Jane's experiences.

"Come on, let me see it. Where's your ring?" Rose asked eagerly.

Bess pulled her hand from Niles's grasp and showed Rose the classic diamond solitaire in a platinum setting. Rose gulped a bit at the size of the large, brilliant diamond. "Blimey, that's a bit flash!"

Niles smiled proudly. "Who else should I spend my savings on but my Bootsie? She waited long enough."

"S'gorgeous, Bess," Rose gushed

"Rose, Doctor, quick! Close your eyes. Niles and I have a surprise for the two of you," Bess said, barely containing her happiness.

Rose complied, but quickly sucked in a breath as a pair of masculine hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who, Rosie."

"Jack?" Rose spun around in her chair and jumped into Jack's arms. "Jack!" She kissed him hard on the lips and them hugged him again.

"How's my best girl?"

"_Your_ best girl?" the Doctor said with mild irritation.

Rose turned and rolled her eyes at her husband. "We thought you were dead, and then Mum slipped up and told us that you were alive and..." Rose kissed him again. "Oooo, I am so glad to see you!"

Jack flashed his Hollywood smile at her, and then turned to the Doctor. "Don't I get a kiss from you too, Doc?"

_"Rose, I'm not feeling so well_." The Doctor stood up and ignored Jack, unable to look him in the eyes.

"Doc? Aren't you happy to see me too?" he asked, slightly less flirtatiously than the first time.

"Yeah…it's great…great to see you're okay, Jack." The Doctor spoke quietly, still unable to look Jack in the eye.

Alarmed at the strong feeling of discomfort she could feel rolling off of her husband, she put her hand on his arm. _"What's wrong?"_

_"It's Jack." _The Doctor pulled himself away from Rose and began to pace, madly messing his wild hair.

"I'm starting to get the feeling you _aren't_ so happy to see me, Doc. A guy could get a complex. I did save your lives, you know. I think I should at least expect a handshake." Hurt bled through Jack's smiling face and teasing tone. "I'm the one who should be mad at you, not the other way around…abandoning me about a zillion years in the future, but I'm a forgiving guy," he chuckled.

"I'm not mad at you Jack." He had to force the words out, and then he pulled in a hissing breath through his gritted teeth.

The band started to play what would have been a vibrant Bossa Nova beat, but the loud thumping of the bongo drums combined with the blaring horns sounded vicious to the Doctor's ears, and he fled the room. Rose ran after him into the cool air of the May night, closely followed by Jack.

"Doctor what's wrong? Why'd you just leave like that!" Rose asked in angry confusion.

"It hurts, Rose. It hurts to be near him. He can't die, and that is...painful and _wrong_. I can't be around him. I feel like I will go mad," he hissed. "I can't see his timeline, and it messes with my-"

"Doctor!" Jack called after him, walking swiftly out of the club. "I spent the last two months keeping your asses safe and you can't even look at me?" Jack shouted angrily. "Last time I saw you, not John, _you_, you were all broody and leathery and damn hot doin' it, too, but...well, from the way Bess and Niles talked, I thought you would be happy to see me, not...mad!"

"I am not mad, Jack! I'm not mad!" The Doctor shouted, and still he didn't look at his friend. He dodged his vision from place to place, up and down the pavement, anyplace where Jack was not. "It hurts to look at you, alright? You're a...an...impossibility! A fixed point in time! You shouldn't exist, but there you are, and I can't see your timeline and it makes my head hurt. It makes all of my senses burn!"

"Doctor, Jack, I think I'll leave the two of you alone to work this out. Jack, you and I need to have a heart to heart talk too about what I did to you…but right now, you two need to figure this out. I'm...I'm so sorry I did this to you," Rose said as tears began to collect in her eyes. She wiped them away quickly, kissed each man on the cheek, and quickly returned inside.

Rose had noticed in the last twelve hours or so, that she had been weepy several times. She would have to ask the Doctor if pregnancy hormones were already to blame, but this time, she was quite sure that hormones were not the cause. She was truly sad at what Jack had become.

The Doctor nodded and silently thanked his wife as he scrubbed his face with his hand before he slumped down onto a bus bench a few feet away.

"Is it better if you aren't looking at me? Can I still talk to you?" Jack asked from a distance.

"Yeah...it's better."

"She saved my life, you know, just didn't know how to stop, I guess. Loving someone too much...that ain't a bad thing, I suppose. She shouldn't be sad about it."

"She feels guilty about it Jack. She couldn't control it. The power was too much for her. I died trying to save her from the power…well…regenerated…nearly the same thing."

"Speaking of love, the two of you are finally together, huh? When did that happen?" Jack asked, not feeling quite comfortable talking about his immortality quite yet.

"About a month before the Family of Blood found us. We were on Barcelona."

"So you finally made it to Barcelona. They have dogs with no noses..." Jack started the favorite old joke. "How do they smell?"

"They don't." They answered each other quietly.

The Doctor pushed his hands into his brown coat pockets and straightened his posture. "We'd just been to New New York. This crazy woman, well, when I say woman I mean a flap of skin with a brain attached to her. Her name was Cassandra. She psychografted herself to Rose's mind. You know how dangerous those things are…"

"Yeah, I do. The fact that Rose even survived…that's…that's a miracle."

"Yeah, well, Rose is a bit of a miracle, Jack." He paused, and then continued. "I thought I had gotten it all out, but I hadn't. The woman was a...very not nice person. Vindictive. Mean. Hated us both. We'd had a run-in with her before — it was our first trip in fact — and she saw Rose and saw an opportunity to get back at us both. Long story short, I had to get Cassandra's psychic echo out of Rose fast, like, immediately. It was taking her over, destroying her mind, and while I was in Rose's head, I saw exactly how much she loved me. It...it blew me away," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Completely overwhelmed me. I always knew she loved me, but I had no idea just how much..." The Doctor smiled softly at the memory.

Jack nodded.

"You know how Rose is, she won't take no for an answer, and frankly, I had no idea she would be able to do what she did. Even though I had put up some pretty strong shields, she pushed right past 'em. She saw the real me…the good, the bad and the horrible…and still she loved me and well...we both decided enough was enough and we bonded. Right then and there we got married, well married in the Gallifreyan way."

"You bonded with her? How? She isn't telepathic."

"She is now. Remember? She's my miracle. The TARDIS changed her." He moved on with a small chuckle. "Jackie doesn't get it...calls it our 'naked wedding'. Oh, I just said that out loud, didn't I?" The Doctor wrinkled his nose and blushed a bit.

"Ya sure know how romance a girl, Doc," Jack ribbed him. "A naked wedding sounds fantastic."

"You could say that," the Doctor replied, slightly cheeky. "Not very romantic, though, all spur of the moment and…hasty."

"Hasty? I wouldn't call you and Rose finally giving in hasty, Doc."

"Yeah. Well...John was hasty, too now wasn't he?" the Doctor joked with a half smile. "More than a bit of John rubbed off on me — John loved domestic, and I'm sort of liking it too, but don't you dare tell anyone," he said, pointing a finger in the air. "I voluntarily took Rose to go _shopping_ on Shan Shen. Shopping! Me! I'm doing domestic Jack!" he whinged.

"Shan Shen…Why is that name familiar? Oh! I know! That Asian-inspired human colony. I've been there. Interesting place. There is this massage parlor there that specializes in sensual massage. You and Rose should go there sometime. Hey, wait a minute! I _knew_ I recognized those bath salts from somewhere! You went to Madame Ling's, didn't you? You're the ones who set up John and Jane's room! Bess, Niles and I have been wondering who in the hell did that. Hope you don't mind I took what was left of the bottle. The two of you enjoy those? Pretty powerful stuff for 20th century humans."

"Jack...don't," the Doctor said in his warning tone, telling Jack to back off of this line of conversation. "Rose is pregnant."

"Wowza! You two work fast!" Jack whistled.

"It was John and Jane, actually. First time was the charm...well…when I say first time, I mean fourth." The Doctor cracked a wry smile and turned around hesitantly. He looked at Jack for a moment. "I think I'm sort of getting used to being around you. Don't take it too personally if I don't look right at you until I get used to the feeling…s'weird…you look all…wibbly-wobbly, like I'm looking at you through a kaleidoscope that's constantly turning and changing…but staying the same."

"I'm happy for the two of you...you and Rose. She deserves the best, and you are the best, Doc," Jack said a bit wistfully.

"Thanks for saving us, Jack. Who knows what would have happened if you weren't there..."

"You're welcome."

"And Jack, I'm sorry about leaving you on the Game Station." The Doctor stared straight ahead and spoke in hushed tones. "Being around you was excruciatingly painful. I was regenerating...and Rose was dead...it was horrible, Jack. I didn't want to live. I took her body back to Jackie's and just left her there. Hardly could put two words together for Jackie. I don't know exactly what happened, but somehow...somehow when she looked into the heart of my TARDIS, it changed her...not as radically as she changed you, but enough that we are going to have a very long life together."

"Her biology has changed?"

The Doctor nodded. "Her neural pathways were re-wired. Allowed us to fully bond. She also heals very quickly. Right after I left, Jackie told me she came back to life. Just like that..." The Doctor snapped his fingers. "But I didn't know she was alive. After I regenerated, the TARDIS landed in London, right before Christmas in the same time period as Rose. And you know what my ship did to me?" He turned around and looked at Jack who was now casually leaning on a lamp post a few feet away.

"What?" Jack pushed himself off and walked to the bench and took a chance, and sat next to the Doctor.

"She locked me out. Set up a whole life for me right here in good old London, but didn't tell me that Rose was alive. I got a job with UNIT, but I've done that before, so that wasn't so bad. Lived in a house. With doors! Me! In a little stone house! I found her, though. Well rather, Rose found me, well to be perfectly accurate, I hired a temp agency to find me a companion, and guess who they found? She showed up on my doorstep…all pink and yellow and smiling. Wanted to hug her right then and there, but I figured that wouldn't go over too well considering she didn't know who I was. I'd never bothered to tell her about regeneration. Speaking of which, why'd you trust my video message? Why did you believe it was me?"

"I believed it was you because _Rose _said you were the Doctor_,"_ Jack clarified. "But then your memories started bleeding through, and you mentioned stuff that we had experienced together, and other things that I knew only the Doctor could possibly know, so I knew without a doubt you were you. There was the fact that you were in the TARDIS, too."

"You get around. What do you know about regeneration?" asked the Doctor.

"I'd heard myths and legends about Time Lords being able to change their faces, but that's about all."

"This is my tenth body. Youngest looking by far."

"Ten? Wow Doc."

They sat quietly for a moment, staring straight ahead as the Thursday night downtown traffic went by.

"Have you and Rose been back to Torchwood House? I mean other than to set up the love nest for your human selves."

"No. Why?" the Doctor asked.

Jack was quiet for a moment. "If I knew something that the two of you will do in your future and my past, and this thing that the two of you do is very important for the safety of Earth, but also poses a serious danger to you both, would you want me to tell you about it?"

"No. Do _not_ tell me. Just don't." The Doctor was adamant.

Jack smiled wryly. "The Time Agency woulda had my hide if I told you, but they ain't here, now are they? Doc, can I give you a warning at least? A really general warning?"

"How general?"

"Pretty general." Jack pushed his hands into the pockets of his long blue coat.

"Alright..." the Doctor answered hesitantly.

"Keep your eyes on Torchwood...not Torchwood _House_, but the Torchwood Institute itself...where Niles and I work. There are lots of good people there. Great people in fact doing important work, but there are also lots of less than great people who would love nothing more than to get their hands on you and Rose, Doctor. And now that you have a baby coming?" Jack nodded for emphasis. "There are those who would stop at nothing to get their hands on it."

"Him," the Doctor said softly. "Rose is carrying a boy. Our son." For the first time, the Doctor turned and looked at his 'impossible' friend without cringing.

"A boy...that's fantastic, Doc." Jack's congratulations were completely genuine, but the Doctor couldn't help but notice a bit of wistfulness in his voice.

"Thanks for the warning, Jack."

"Glad to be of service."

The Doctor changed the subject. "Nice to see your coat survived. Would've been a shame to lose such a fantastic coat."

"Like your new look too. That's a very well-cut suit you've got there," he flirted. "Very impressive."

The Doctor smirked at his compliment, and Jack chuckled. "My beautiful coat didn't survive, but I had a spare. Torchwood sent me to the States a while back, and I hit a surplus shop. Besides being damn painful, I learned that clothes don't survive death by disintegration. I came back naked as the day I was born. For some reason, I woke up in the graveyard next to the church you got married at. Nice tombstone for Danny by the way. You're a poet."

"And I didn't know it..."

"Cheeky," he smiled. "Foxy too. No wonder Rose couldn't resist you."

"I'll have you know that Rose was very attracted to the old me," the Doctor said, pointing a finger at his friend.

"Oh I _know_ she was. You had that broody, dark, dangerous thing going on, all wrapped up in black leather. I tried to get you two together Doc, really I did, but the two of you had too much self restraint! You know how hard it was for me to be around the two of you? The tension between you almost killed me! I thought about stranding the two of you on a deserted island, stealing your clothes and then just sitting back to watch the fireworks."

The Doctor smirked. "Tell me more about coming back from the great beyond..."

"So, I wake up behind a tombstone, completely naked, screaming like a little girl. It's in the middle of the night, and I must have scared Mrs. MacLeish to death. She looks out the window and really isn't too keen on the fact that a naked man is standing in her husband's churchyard, so she throws this pink dressing gown out the window at me. I hike back to Torchwood House, and miss you and Rose by seconds, Doc! Saw the TARDIS dematerializing as I run out the back door."

"Niles and Bess told us we had to leave quick...a cleanup crew from Torchwood was coming. I take it he was warning us for the same reason you did?"

"Yeah. Niles is one of the good guys. Bess has agreed to come work for us, too. I want her to set up a psychic training department. You don't suppose you'd give her some lessons would ya? Help her control it? Teach her etiquette? She's kinda nosy…just barges right on in whenever she wants to," Jack laughed.

"Sure. I think carrying those watches around sort of kickstarted her natural abilities. She knew about our baby before we did."

"Spooky!" Jack made a creepy face and wiggled his fingers. "Hey Doc, speaking of babies, I'm dying to know." Jack had that dirty grin on his face that would have made the Doctor's ninth self fume. "What's it like?"

"What?"

"Telepathic sex!"

"Jack!"

"Just kidding. I'll ask Rose. She'll tell me."

"She better not!"

Jack grew serious once again. "You, Rose and I have some things we need to talk about…about Daniel. Important things."

"Not right yet, okay? Jane was able to get over the fear right away, but for some reason, Rose is holding on…afraid to let go, and I'm not pushing her."

"Sure."

oOo

Jack and the Doctor returned inside to find Rose, Bess and Niles talking quietly.

"Hail, hail, the gang's all here!" Jack said with joviality, arms wide open as they approached the table.

Jack bent over and kissed Rose on the cheek, and whispered into her ear, "It's okay sweetheart, I'm not mad at you, and Doc and I are okay, too. Thanks for loving me enough to want me to live."

Rose turned in her seat and hugged him hard. "Thanks, Jack."

Jack and the Doctor took their seats and the evening was now a celebration of true friendship.

"Where's your mother?" asked the Doctor, suddenly worried that his mother-in-law was going to do something foolish.

"She found some rich bloke to dance with," Rose said, inclining her head towards the dance floor as she fiddling with the straw in her ginger ale.

"You're here with Rose's mother?" Jack laughed.

"Yeah..." the Doctor drawled and smirked. "I'm not her favorite person right now. We are stuck here for at least six months. The TARDIS got beat up pretty badly when I took Jackie to see John and Jane get married. She said it was only fair since she couldn't be at the real wedding."

"The naked one, right? I'd have been happy to be there to stand up for you two."

The Doctor ignored him, and Rose blushed, slinking down in her seat a bit. Bess's eyebrows went up, and she mouthed, 'naked wedding' to Rose.

Rose sputtered a laugh, and then leaned into Bess. "I'll tell you about that later."

"Which one is she?" Jack asked as he craned his neck, looking over to the dance floor.

"The one in the red dress that's missing most of the material from the waist up," the Doctor said with derision.

Bess smiled. "I happen to think Rose's mum carries it off. She has...joie de vivre!"

"Yeah and joie de _slap_, too," the Doctor said under his breath.

Rose broke into a fit of laughter at that.

The music stopped and Jackie returned to the table on the arm of an elegant, older man. He pulled her chair out in gentlemanly fashion, and kissed her hand goodbye. "Thank you for the lovely dance Ginger. Perhaps we shall meet again sometime." He had an aristocratic air and that certain undefinable European accent that shouted old money.

"It was my pleasure, Teddy. Ta!" Jackie waggled her fingers as the distinguished gentleman retreated.

"Teddy?" said Bess with a sly smile. "_Ginger_, do you know who that was?"

"Naw, just some nice old bloke. Good dancer. I haven't done the foxtrot in years. Felt like I was dancin' on a cloud."

"That was Theodore Juan Antonio Salvadore."

"Who's that? He sounds like he's sort of important, what with all those names." Jackie took a sip of champagne, and smiled. "Mmmm! That's good! I don't think I've ever had such good champagne before. I think I'm getting used to this 1963 place!"

Bess snorted a laugh. "He only owns half of Spain!"

"Well now! I'm glad I wore the red dress then!" She lifted her glass, in toast to herself.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced, Mrs. Tyler, or rather..." he chuckled sexily, "Ginger. I'm Jack Harkness."

"Stop it..." warned the Doctor.

"Jack...that's my _mum_," she hissed the word quietly, "you're talking to," Rose said rather darkly.

"Can't a guy appreciate a beautiful woman?" He kissed Jackie's hand gallantly.

"Oh, I know you, Jack. We're _old_ friends in the future." She gave him a downright filthy look, until he grinned even more brightly.

"The future suddenly looks quite promising," he replied flirting right back.

"Oh mum, you're full of it," Rose said, crossing her arms.

"I'm just havin' him on. He's such a flirt, and so handsome." Jackie patted Jack's cheek.

Bess sipped her champagne with a look of amusement, Rose averted her eyes, Niles shook his head in resignation and the Doctor crossed his arms and glared. All of them watched the show as the two masters of flirtation continued to try and outdo one another.

Dinner was delicious, and even though there was no headliner that night, everyone enjoyed dancing as the band alternated between smoking hot and sultry cool. Jack and Jackie had no lack of dance partners and shared a few dances as well. Niles and Bess, and Rose and the Doctor stuck to their own partners like glue. No one could pry them apart.

Around eleven, Bess started to yawn. "I have to work tomorrow, darlings. Niles, take me home?"

"It's been a long day, Doctor. I think bed is calling to me." Rose leaned her head on her husband's shoulder.

"Aww, do we have ta leave now? I'm having a great time," said Jackie, disappointed, as she looked around the room, watching the still thick crowd of revelers.

"I'll take you home, Jackie," Jack offered. "I'm not quite ready to go either. See that number over there?" He pointed at a redhead in a jade green shift sitting at the bar.

"Poor thing, she looks like she wants to dance." Jackie pretended to pout. "I'll go sit down next ta her and start up a conversation. I'll tell her I have a friend who is lookin' for a dance partner too, and point you out, 'kay?" Jackie flashed him a grin.

"Jackie Tyler, I do believe we are going to get along just swell!" Jack his glass and Jackie clinked hers against his.

_"Rose, please tell me this is a bad dream. Your mother is going clubbing with Jack Harkness."_

_"At least she won't be coming home with us." _Rose was decidedly _not_ tired.

_"I thought you said you were tired," _the Doctor replied with a half grin.

_"Doctor, that big, big bed is most definitely calling my name, but I never said anything about wanting to go to sleep, now did I?"_

"I'm going to take Rose home. Jackie, see you tomorrow." They scurried a few feet away, and then he turned on his heel. "And Jackie, whenever you _do_ get home, _knock first_." The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her at a near run out of the Tiki Tiki, home to their fantastically fabulous flat and their big, big, bed.

* * *

Thanks friends for all of your kind reviews and additions of this story to your favorite lists.


	6. Big, Big Bed Revisited Sneak Peek

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 6 - Sneak Peek - Big, Big Bed Revisited**

* * *

The Doctor and Rose emerged from the Tiki Tiki Club, eager to retrieve their car. The burning desire radiating from the Doctor's mind was searing into Rose's and spilling out into every nook and cranny of her physical body. By the time they were outside, her chest was rising and falling heavily, and not from the exertion of their hasty exit.

There were four parties ahead of him in the valet queue, so he gave the attendant a ten pound tip to jump the queue and retrieve his vehicle first. The attendant grinned, and ran away to retrieve the sexy blue sports car. The Doctor jumped in front of the attendant to open the passenger door as the valet was moving too slowly for the Doctor. Rose snickered quietly at her husband's impatience.

"Eager?" she asked with a tongue-in-teeth grin as he slid behind the steering wheel, floored the gas pedal and sped off before fastening his seatbelt, and with his door still in the process of closing.

"Oh yes!" he growled, snapping his head for emphasis. The couple was quiet for a few blocks. "John had very few regrets in the end, love, but he did have one."

"What did he regret?" Rose asked quietly, laying her hand over the Doctor's as it rested on the stick shift.

They were stopped at an intersection. With eyes shining in the lights of the nighttime city, the Doctor turned to Rose. "He was very disappointed that he never made love to Jane in their own bed."

"Really?" Rose asked with a small smile.

"Yep."

"Jane thought about it all the time after they decided they would spend their wedding night in their own bedroom." Rose bit the side of her lower lip. "We could pretend," she said in a smoky voice. She moved her hand from the stick shift, up the Doctor's arm to his face, and ultimately trailed a single finger up and down his left sideburn.

"We don't have to pretend, Rose. It could be real. We could make it real for John and Jane."

"Whaddya mean, Doctor?" Rose asked, intrigued by the heavy tone of his voice.

"How would you like to take a little walk down memory lane?" He paused as he pulled the Aston Martin up to the kerb, and his voice dropped an octave and was half as quiet, but far more powerful. "How would you like to experience one last night as night as John and Jane?" He unbuckled his lap belt and leaned across the armrest that stood as a barrier between them. "I think we should give them that night that they both wanted so very...very much." His voice was deep and dark, sending fire straight to the pit of his wife's stomach.

"How would we manage that?" she asked breathily, shifting in her seat to face him fully. Her hand drifted to the inside of his thigh, and then to his hand.

"A simple block. I could float our memories and personae of John and Jane to the surface, and put a mental mechanism in place to snap us out of it tomorrow morning. What do you say?"

Rose thought for a moment. "Would it harm the baby?"

"Nope. It wouldn't even faze him."

A smile slowly overtook her face. "Okay." Rose kissed him soundly. "So we would remember after, yeah? But they wouldn't remember us? Just like before? It'd be just John and Jane?"

"Mmmm hmm," he hummed, into her ear before pulling away and placing his fingers on her temples.

Rose followed suit, placing her fingers on his temples.

They both closed their eyes and sighed as they sank into the warming sensation of this most intimate contact. While they were able to have full telepathic conversations when in close proximity, and feel each other's emotions and even communicate at a rudimentary level no matter the distance, the full intimacy and knowledge they shared while in this state never ceased to astound them both.

Rose sighed, perfectly content, as the Doctor pushed into her mind and sought to find the door behind which the memories of Jane Donna Smith were safe. He smiled as he stumbled upon a stone wall, similar to the enclosure which housed the secret garden where Jane and John first professed their love.

Instead of an elaborate wrought iron gate, as had been the entry into the private garden, a simple yet charming, wood door painted the shade of Jane's favorite dark pink roses, was embedded in the tall stone wall. Flowering vines meandered, clinging to the grey wall, displaying fresh and fragrant blossoms of yellow. The cementing had fallen away in places, revealing the fieldstone used to erect the protective barricade around the hidden garden. Verdant limbs from the trees living within the garden billowed over the top and the fragrance of fresh flowers permeated the air, hinting at the beauty hidden within. In small gold lettering, the name Jane was inscribed in the center of the door.

"Now find John's door, but don't open it yet." The Doctor shifted his fingertips slightly as Rose walked through his mind. It didn't take long for her to find the bright blue door. In bold and masculine silver letters, John David Smith was proclaimed to be the resident. John's door seemed to lead into the same garden, just from a different location on the wall.

"So now what? Open your door?" asked Rose anxiously.

"Not quite yet. I need to put the fail-safe into place." The Doctor concentrated, implanting a phrase into Rose's subconscious, as well as his own, which would trigger the closing of the pink and blue garden doors, and the return of the Doctor and Rose Tyler.

"So when one of us says, "How about an omelette?" John and Jane will return back into our memories and we will resurface.

"How about an omelette?" Rose wrinkled her her nose as she looked at him in confusion.

"Sure. It's the only thing that John knows how to cook, so when Jane asks him if he wants breakfast, or course he'll ask her if he wants an omelette."

"What if Jane offers to cook, and John never asks for an omelette?"

"Oh don't worry, he will," he said, voice rumbling low. "Cooking with you was one of the sexiest things I have ever experienced in ten lives, well, eleven including John. He will want to re-create that event."

"Do I have to scrape my knuckles again?"

"If you want me to kiss it all better, again."

While they talked, the Doctor was planting the necessary cues and keys to return Rose and himself to their original state.

"Their memories of the honeymoon in Scotland will be intact up until the Family found them at the pub. It'll just be hazy after that, like a fading dream."

"Will they know about the baby?" Rose asked, nervous for the first time.

"Well...I suppose they won't. But it won't matter, right? Because they'll wake up. You know love, if you don't want to do this, that's alright with me. If you're, you know, nervous..." The Doctor pulled back.

The way he was looking at her reminded Rose of Dr. John Smith, the slightly eccentric scientist living in below the Greenwich Naval Observatory. It was a look of longing, holding back. He couldn't hide anything from her if he wanted to, anyway. She took his hand into hers and caressed it. "This is important to you, isn't it? John and Jane being able to do this?"

He closed his eyes and nodded then opened them once again. " I'm not sure why," he chuckled quietly. "I don't understand why this is so important to me. I guess it's just that Jane meant so much to John. I want to give them this, Rose. This one last thing. I can never give you a normal existence without the monsters, but John could give that to Jane. He did give that to her, and-"

"I understand Doctor, but you need to know that I don't regret anything for a minute...leaving normal behind, or living as Jane for a month. Both are brilliant, but you are my future, Doctor...you and me and our son in our TARDIS. Let's open the doors, and then you will take me upstairs and then you will _take_ me in John and Jane's big, big bed, and in the kitchen up against the refrigerator, and on the black leather sofa, and on the terrace, and then we're going to make an omelette together tomorrow morning, wake up and write our book. See you in the morning, Doctor?"

The Doctor kissed her quickly, but passionately. "See you in the morning, Rose Tyler."

* * *

I am in the midst of packing for a cross-country move. My iMac is about to be disassembled, and I do not believe there is a way to post from an iPad. If anyone knows how, would you shoot me a PM? I will be updating this story on my LiveJournal and on Teaspoon, but unless I can find a way to update via iPad, I won't be able to post here until July 20 at the earliest.

Can I ask for your patience? If you are too impatient, you can pop over to my other fic sites.

Thanks!


	7. Big, Big, Bed Revisited Full

**Found & Revisited**

**Chapter 6 - Big, Big, Bed Revisited**

**NOTE RATING CHANGE TO M for relatively mild sexuality. The original, adult version is posted on my LiveJournal and Whofic accounts.**

The Doctor and Rose emerged from the Tiki Tiki Club, eager to retrieve their car and return home. The burning desire radiating from the Doctor's mind was searing into Rose's, and spilling out into every nook and cranny of her physical body. By the time they were outside, her chest was rising and falling heavily, and not from the exertion of their hasty exit.

There were four parties ahead of him in the valet queue, so he gave the attendant a ten pound tip to jump to the front and being his vehicle around first. The attendant grinned as he snatched the tip, and ran away to retrieve the sexy blue sports car. The Doctor jumped in front of the attendant to open the passenger door. The valet was moving too slowly for the Doctor. Rose snickered quietly at her husband's impatience.

He slid behind the steering wheel, floored the gas pedal and sped off before fastening his seatbelt, his door still in the process being pulled closed.

"Eager?" she asked with a tongue-in-teeth grin.

"Oh yes!" he growled, snapping his head for emphasis. The couple was quiet for a few blocks. "John had very few regrets in the end, love, but he did have one."

"What did he regret?" Rose asked quietly, laying her hand over the Doctor's as it rested on the stick shift.

They were stopped at an intersection. With eyes shining in the lights of the nighttime city, the Doctor turned to Rose. "He was very disappointed that he never made love to Jane in their own bed."

"Really?" Rose asked with a small smile.

"Yep."

"Jane thought about it all the time after they decided they would spend their wedding night in their own bedroom." Rose bit the side of her lower lip. "We could pretend," she said in a smoky voice. She moved her hand from the stick shift, up the Doctor's arm to his face, and then trailed a single finger up and down his left sideburn.

"We don't have to pretend, Rose. It could be real. We could make it real for John and Jane."

"Whaddya mean, Doctor?" Rose asked, intrigued by the heavy tone of his voice.

"How would you like to take a little walk down memory lane?" He paused as he pulled the Aston Martin up to the kerb, and his voice dropped an octave and was half as quiet, but far more powerful. "How would you like to experience one last night as night as John and Jane?" He unbuckled his lap belt and leaned across the armrest that stood as a barrier between them. "I think we should give them that night that they both wanted so very...very much." His voice was deep and dark, sending fire straight to the pit of his wife's stomach.

"How would we manage that?" she asked breathily, shifting in her seat to face him fully. Her hand drifted to the inside of his thigh, and then to his hand.

"A simple block. I could float the memories and personae of John and Jane to the surface, and put a mental mechanism in place to snap us out of it tomorrow morning. What do you say?"

Rose thought for a moment. "Would it harm the baby?"

"Nope. It wouldn't even faze him."

A smile slowly overtook her face. "Okay." Rose kissed him soundly. "So we would remember after, yeah? But they wouldn't remember us? Just like before? It'd be just John and Jane?"

"Mmmm hmm," he hummed, into her ear before pulling away and placing his fingers on her temples.

Rose followed suit, placing her fingers on his temples.

They both closed their eyes and sighed as they sank into the warming sensation of this most intimate contact. While they were able to have full telepathic conversations when in close proximity, and feel each other's emotions and even communicate at a rudimentary level no matter the distance, the full intimacy and knowledge they shared while in this state never ceased to astound them both.

Rose sighed, perfectly content, as the Doctor pushed into her mind and sought to find the door behind which the memories of Jane Donna Smith were safe. He smiled as he stumbled upon a stone wall, similar to the enclosure which housed the secret garden where Jane and John first professed their love to one another.

Instead of an elaborate wrought iron gate, as had been the entry into the private garden, stood a simple, yet charming wood door. It was painted the shade of Jane's favorite dark pink roses, and was embedded in the tall stone wall. Flowering vines meandered, clinging to the grey wall, displaying fresh and fragrant blossoms of yellow. The cementing had fallen away in places, revealing the fieldstone used to erect the protective barricade around the hidden garden. Verdant limbs from the trees living within the garden billowed over the top and the fragrance of fresh flowers permeated the air, hinting at the beauty hidden within. In small gold lettering, the name Jane was inscribed in the center of the door.

"Now find John's door, but don't open it yet." The Doctor shifted his fingertips slightly as Rose walked through his mind. It didn't take long for her to find the bright blue door. In bold and masculine silver letters, John David Smith was proclaimed to be the resident. John's door seemed to lead into the same garden, just from a different location on the wall.

"So now what? Open your door?" asked Rose anxiously.

"Not quite yet. I need to put the fail-safe into place." The Doctor concentrated, implanting a phrase into Rose's subconscious, as well as his own, which would trigger the closing of the pink and blue garden doors, and the return of the Doctor and Rose Tyler.

"So when one of us says, 'How about an omelette?'" John and Jane will return to our memories and you and I will resurface.

"How about an omelette?" Rose wrinkled her her nose as she looked at him in confusion.

"Sure. It's the only thing that John knows how to cook, so when Jane asks him if he wants breakfast, or course he'll ask her if he wants an omelette."

"What if Jane offers to cook, and John never asks for an omelette?"

"Oh don't worry, he will," he said, voice rumbling low. "Cooking with you was one of the sexiest things I have ever experienced in ten lives, well, eleven including John. He will want to re-create that event."

"Do I have to scrape my knuckles again?"

"If you want me to kiss it all better, again."

While they talked, the Doctor was planting the necessary cues and keys to return Rose and himself to their original state.

"Their memories of the honeymoon in Scotland will be intact up until the Family found them at the pub. It'll just be hazy after that, like a fading dream."

"Will they know about the baby?" Rose asked, nervous for the first time.

"Well...I suppose they won't. But it won't matter, right? Because they'll wake up. You know love, if you don't want to do this, that's alright with me. If you're, you know, nervous..." The Doctor pulled back.

The way he was looking at her reminded Rose of Dr. John Smith, the slightly eccentric scientist living in below the Greenwich Naval Observatory. It was a look of longing, holding back. He couldn't hide anything from her if he wanted to, anyway. She took his hand into hers and caressed it. "This is important to you, isn't it? John and Jane being able to do this?"

He closed his eyes and nodded then opened them once again. "I'm not sure why," he chuckled quietly. "I don't understand why this is so important to me. I guess it's just that Jane meant so much to John. I want to give them this, Rose. This one last thing. I can never give you a normal existence without the monsters, but John could give that to Jane. He did give that to her, and-"

"I understand Doctor, but you need to know that I don't regret anything for a minute...leaving normal behind, or living as Jane for a month. Both are brilliant, but you are my future, Doctor...you and me and our son in our TARDIS. Let's open the doors, and then you will take me upstairs and then you will take me in John and Jane's big, big bed, and in the kitchen up against the refrigerator, and on the black leather sofa, and on the terrace, and then we're going to make an omelette together tomorrow morning, wake up and write our book. See you in the morning, Doctor?"

The Doctor kissed her quickly, but passionately. "See you in the morning, Rose Tyler."

OOo

"John? John? Earth to John!" Jane waved her hand in front of the face of her husband of two days.

"Oh...sorry! Deep in thought there for a moment." John came out of his daze.

"Penny?" she asked sweetly.

He turned and looked into her eyes, and a bright smile emerged. "We're home, and we are married. You're safe, Daniel is in custody and we will never ever have to face him again, thanks to Torchwood, and...we...are...married!" John became serious and stared wide-eyed out the front window. "I have a wife. I have...responsibility now! I have to provide for...for you! I have to...to..." John stuttered until Jane silenced him with a gentle touch to his lips.

"Yes," she said barely above a whisper, "we are. And yes, we are home." Jane flashed a bright but somewhat shy smile and then touched his cheek with her hand before placing a soft kiss on his lips. "Take me upstairs, Mr. Smith."

The deer-in-the-headlights look of fear dissolved as he looked into Jane's eyes, calm and reassuring.

"Upstairs, it is." He was now flashing her that certain devastating half-smile that betrayed his desire for her.

Heat surged in the pit of Jane's belly, and she moved to get out of the car.

"Wait right there! Just because we're an old married couple now doesn't mean I am going to stop opening doors for you Jane Smith."

Jane laughed as he ran around the front end of the vehicle, gallantly opened her door and offered his hand to assist her out of the low sports car. John went around to the boot, and opened it up to pull out their luggage. He stared, confused.

"Jane, where is our luggage?"

"What do you mean? Isn't it in the boot?" Jane sidled up to her husband.

"Nope. No luggage."

"Huh. That's odd. I wonder if Bess and Niles brought it back down for us. Or Jack..." Her brow wrinkled as she frowned, and then she put her hands on her hips. "I guess you'll have to loan me some clothes."

"I think that can be arranged," he replied with a bit of a growl and then slapped her bum.

Jane laughed and slapped his bum right back.

John turned and looked at her with playfully predatory eyes, and instinctively, Jane fled towards the front door of the building, laughing. John quickly closed the boot and took chase as they both ran into his building racing like children up three flights of stairs, spilling out into the small foyer. The door to John's flat loomed before them. He dug into his pocket and produced the house key.

"I'll have a duplicate key made for you tomorrow, and I'm going to have to let the neighbors know who you are, and you need to have your address changed for your post and-"

Jane interrupted him by grabbing his lapels and pulling him down into a blistering hot kiss. "Sort it tomorrow," she whispered into his mouth. "Tonight is about you and me and finally being together in that big, big, gorgeous, bed of yours."

John unlocked the door, and then scooped his wife up into his arms and carried her across the threshold, kicking the door shut.

"Welcome home, Jane."

Jane held her breath for a moment and then released it, throwing her arms around his neck, as he released his hold on her, easing her to the floor.

"It's so good to be home," Jane said happily, looking around the flat, and then back at her husband. She regarded him, and then reached up into his hair and ruffled it. "What happened to your hair?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your hair...it's wild."

John turned and looked at himself in the entryway mirror. He scrunched his face as he examined himself. "It looks like I was in a typhoon! Why didn't you say something before?" he whinged, preening in front of the mirror, trying to arrange it in his usual conservative manner.

"I sort of like your hair this way." Jane ran her fingers through his hair, arranging it this way and that. "I reminds me of how you looked when you woke up this morning after our night of..." she smiled and bit her lip shyly, "you know what-ing."

"You know what-ing?" he smiled, and then hastily pulled her close. "Thought you weren't afraid to say The S Word anymore."

"'M not," she said, her voice low and throaty, before giving him a tongue-in-teeth smile. "Just like being shy around you sometimes. Reminds me of when we were new." She fingered the collar of his long, brown overcoat. "Speaking of new, is this coat new? I don't recognize it."

John looked down at the long, brown coat. Hours before, the Doctor, at Rose's request, had reluctantly agreed to wear a charcoal suit, white shirt and skinny midnight blue tie, more fashionably appropriate for 1963, instead of his more unusually tailored brown pinstriped suit. However, when it came to footwear, he had literally put his foot down and stubbornly worn his dirty white Chucks. At the last minute, he had slipped on his brown coat as well, much to the irritation of Jackie Tyler, pulling a face at her behind her back.

"Looks old," John said shrugging his shoulders, confused. "In my hurry to get us home, I must have grabbed the wrong coat out of the wardrobe up at Torchwood House. Our room was pretty dark. Oh well. I sorta like it," he said turning from side to side as he watched the tails flaring out. "It's dashing, don't you think? Very swishy-wishy."

"Oh, it is very swishy-wishy," Jane replied, trying hard not to giggle at John's choice of words. "But why are we standing here in the lounge talking about your really great swishy-wishy coat when we could be in there, doing-"

John stopped Jane with his lips, sliding his across hers, slow and languid. It wasn't nearly as passionate as other kisses they had shared, but held the promise of what was to come. He pulled away, bumped her nose with his and tugged her into the bedroom.

"For some reason, I'm more excited about this than I was about our wedding night," Jane said breathlessly.

"Aye."

Jane slipped her short white bolero jacket from her shoulders, and hanged it in the wardrobe. "Our clothes look good side by side. We have very nice friends to bring our clothing home and set it up for us."

"We have brilliant friends." John opened the bureau drawer, hopeful that he would find a certain garment. He made a happy noise in his throat as he pulled out a blue and white striped pyjama top, and matching bottoms.

"Don't you want to see some of my new lingerie?" Jane asked, fingering the large Peter Pan collar of her orange Mary Quant dress.

"Of course I do, but not just yet." He dangled the beloved nightshirt from his pointer finger and waggled his eyebrows. "Why don't you...slip into this, and I will see what I have in way of refreshment."

Jane sashayed over to John, plucked the shirt from his fingertip, and wiggled her fingers farewell. He left for the kitchen, and she went into the en suite bathroom to freshen up and change into what apparently was her husband's favorite article of clothing.

John whistled merrily as he retrieved his silver ice bucket and filled it with ice. The light from the open refrigerator flooded the darkened kitchen as he retrieved a bottle of champagne.

The bedroom was dim, the only light coming from a low-wattage lightbulb in a lamp on the bedside table on John's side of the bed. Jane pulled the simple, brown bedspread down and carefully folded it several times until it was neatly draped across the foot of the bed. She slid between the sheets and rested her head on the pillow waiting for her husband to return, presumably with a bottle of something deliciously bubbly.

"I found a bottle of champagne!" he said as he hastily entered the bedroom, setting the champagne bucket on the bedside table. "Hello!"

"Hello," she replied back with a smile and a soft sigh.

"I'll be right back." John grabbed his pyjama bottoms and jogged into the en suite to change.

"Why are you changing in there?" Jane called after him, amused.

"Going for the full affect, Mrs. Smith. In fact, what do you think of reenacting that night?" he called loudly. "Now if we were doing this right, I would be sleeping on the sofa, rather fitfully, lusting after for my chaste fiancée, locked behind the bedroom door."

"The door wasn't locked, John," she corrected him, equally loud.

"Yeah, well, may as well have been," he replied, coming out of the bathroom.

Jane grinned, still a bit amused at just how thin her husband was, but that mirth  
gave way to pure, unadulterated desire upon closer examination. His thin, blue pyjama bottoms were slung low on his hips, and a hint of manly hair peeked just above the waistband.

"You're blushing, my no longer blushing bride," said John as he unceremoniously flipped the covers back and jumped into bed, quickly moving next to her.

Jane turned onto her side and propped her head on her hand. "Still getting used to this, I suppose...being able to see you in all manner of clothing, or lack thereof."

"You've seen all me, and I, you. Why so timid tonight?" He traced the very edge of the collar of the too-big shirt, barely grazing the sensitive skin of her chest.

Jane shivered a bit as he slipped his hand inside and teased her. "Was different on our honeymoon. That was a honeymoon...it was...different." She frowned slightly, not quite sure how to explain the difference between then and now.

"Different, eh? Want me to remind you just how much hasn't changed since Scotland?"

"I think I'm amenable to that." Jane pushed him onto his back and quickly moved to straddle his hips.

John propped his hands behind his head and took in the nearly unobstructed view of her chest as the large and loose pyjama shirt gaped open.

"You minx, you were having me on! You aren't shy at all."

"We could pretend I'm a shy, blushing bride," she offered. "Want me to roll off of you? Lay on my back and wait in passive, trembling trepidation for my lover to take me?"

John tried to form a witty reply, but only managed to stutter a few non-sensical syllables when Jane pulled the shirt off in one go, baring herself to him. She removed the ponytail from her hair and shook out her thick, blonde locks, sending her hair tumbling onto her shoulders.

"Still wanna pretend?"

"Naw..." he replied.

"I didn't think so," she wrinkled her nose and shook her head. She scooted her bottom down his legs so that she was now straddling his knees, clad only in a diminutive pair of blush pink satin and lace knickers. Without warning, she hooked her fingers into his waistband. "Arch up."

"Eager, aren't you?"

"Always eager for you. But tonight, I want to do something for you that you have denied me," she replied, shaking her finger at him feigning chastisement.

"Uh...uh..."

"I said, arch up, Mr. Smith."

"Are you going to...to..." He touched her mouth and then looked down at the evidence of his arousal. "But I...I...I won't be able to...to...you know, have sex with you for quite a while, Jane. There's that...that rubbish recovery period. At least half an hour. At least..."

"I'm patient...or you could always use your mouth." She leaned over and traced a circle with her tongue around his navel, eliciting a shuddering breath and the slightest bucking movement of his hips. She sat back up and looked at him with half-lidded eyes. "Now arch up. Are you going to let me pull these pyjamas off of you or not?"

John complied. Jane tugged the garment off and tossed it aside. "Now lie back and enjoy."

Jane didn't give him a chance to protest further. Grasping his slender hips with her small hands, she held him firmly and descended upon him.

"Oh, oh, oh! Jane, you are going to be the death of me! Jane Donna Smith, this is...you are...you are...fantastic!" Those were his last coherent words, as from that time forward, only primal grunts, groans, gasps, and cries came from his throat. John held on with superhuman strength - more accurately and unbeknownst to him, superior Gallifreyan biology - until he allowed his desire to overwhelmed him, and he gave in. After a final groan echoing his ecstasy, John melted into the mattress and let the waves of pleasure roll through his body and soul as Jane's lips and tongue soothed him back from the edge. Once calmed, he sighed, smiled, and propped himself up on his elbows to look at his very pleased-with-herself wife.

"Well...?" she asked, kissing his hipbone for good measure before moving off of him, and stretching out alongside.

"You...you...um..."

"I...what...did I do it wrong?" she asked, worried.

"You finished me off," he stated rather obtusely, but with a half smile.

"Isn't that the way it's supposed to go?" She was worried that somehow she had performed the act incorrectly.

"It's supposed to go any way you and I want it to go, love, and believe me, that was perfect."

John rolled over onto his side, leaned in and kissed her softly. "My Jane...I love you so very much. And not because you gave me...that, but because...well...just because I do. I'm so glad I met you, love. I'm so glad that I sat down beside you in that dark cinema, and I'm glad that you gave me that fake name - it gives us a fantastic story to tell our children. And I can hardly wait to have those bairns so that they can grow up and have bairns of their own and we can tell them the fantastic story too. And I am so thrilled to go back to writing with you. I can hardly wait to see our names side by side on the cover of Blame in on Barcelona. And I-"

"Blame it on Barcelona... I rather like that. Very nice!"

"You could say I had a moment of inspiration a few minutes ago. Speaking of inspiring, I feel...ready again." John frowned, confused.

"What? It's only been about three minutes!" Jane reached down and confirmed that her husband was, in fact, absolutely and positively physically ready to successfully make love to her.

"It doesn't make any sense that I should be ready to go again." His words tumbled.

Jane tapped his chest with a fingertip. "You've secretly been taking sex vitamins, haven't you? See? I can say the word! Sex...sex...sex!

"Only vitamin I take is vitamin J." John waggle his eyebrows and Jane sputtered a laugh at his cheesy joke.

"Oh, I know! Jack gave you some alien libido tonic from that Torchwood place, didn't he? Wait! I got it! All of that pent up sexual energy, all of that holding back, has finally been let loose and you have unleashed the tiger."

John's chuckled at the thought of Jack Harkness peddling alien sex potion on the side. "But honestly Jane, I have no idea how this is even possible." The hard evidence of his ability to engage in sexual activity was nestled against Jane's belly.

"Stop looking a gift horse in the mouth." Jane nuzzled his shoulder as she pushed her hips into his, seeking his heat. She didn't notice that he was significantly cooler than he should be, or that the tha-thump, tha-thump of his quadruple heartbeat was rapidly increasing. When the Doctor resurfaced both Jane and John's memories and personae, he had also made sure that Jane would not perceive the Doctor's unique physiological differences, including his twin hearts and cooler body temperature.

With John's wordless encouragement, Jane rolled onto her back, and John settled over her, aligning his long, lean body with hers, perfectly matching soft to hard.

"I feel so strong and virile!" He proclaimed proudly. "Tell me how you want this, Jane Smith, because I can give it to you any way you like. Multiple times even," he said with a cocky growl.

"Slow and soft for now."

"Sorry love, but there is nothing soft about me right now."

"You think you're so impressive," she teased with a smile.

"I know I'm so impressive!"

"Impress me."

No sooner than Jane had shimmed out of her panties and kicked them free did John's mouth descend upon her pink lips. Immediately, she opened her mouth, welcoming his fervent tongue. They kissed passionately and deeply as their hands roamed in a fevered frenzy over tingling skin. They tumbled over the big bed, battling for supremacy, taking turns being in charge.

The covers were in a shambles. Fingers tugged at hair. Teeth nipped. Mouths sucked. Purple marks of possession were left on shoulders, chests and buttocks. Moaning... Grunting... Crying... Whimpering... And finally begging...

"Forget what I said before about soft and slow..." she panted as he brought her right to the brink, and then cruelly stopped his teasing. "Give it to me hard and fast! John! I need you now!"

It didn't take long for their passion to build to the boiling point. Jane cried out in ecstasy only moments before John, and together, they came tumbling down the other side.

Again, she noticed neither the coolness, of the Doctor's alien physiology. Neither did she know that she was already carrying her bond mate's son.

Jane released her white-knuckled death grip on the headboard and collapsed onto the mattress. John moved next to her. She draped her arm across her gleaming forehead. Her beaming smile lit up her face, and John chuckled the sight of his sated wife.

"New favorite," was all she said before dropping her arm heavily onto the mattress and looking over at John. She sat up and pulled the messy covers over their naked bodies.

"Come here," he said lovingly, drawing her into his arms. He stroked a few stray bleached locks of hair out of her face, and kissed her forehead. John held his Jane in the cool, dark silence. She nestled one last time into his chest, her breathing regulated, and soon, Jane Smith was fast asleep.

But John Smith wasn't tired. In fact, John was wide awake. But he was content. Jane was in his arms. His beloved Jane, now his beloved wife. His Jane.

He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to wander, planning and plotting the next chapter of Blame it on Barcelona. He imagined the mysterious castle as clearly as if he were standing in one of the exterior porticoes. He could smell the exotic jasmine-like flowers. He could hear the sound of the Professor's trainers slapping the stone floor. He could see Iris's angry face, feel the sting of her slap, and then the softness of her skin under his fingers.

He never slept that night, and when the Eastern sky was tinged with pink, he sighed heavily, though not from fatigue. He missed Jane. He was lonely and bored, itching to get out of bed and be active, or stay in bed and be even more active. He sighed again, far too loudly, selfishly hoping to wake her, so she could help him ease his boredom.

The clock indicated it was 5:53 in the morning. The second hand ticked the time away as slow as treacle in December. He wanted it to speed up. He sighed deeply, willing it to move faster, and for a moment, he felt like time advanced at his whim. He looked back out the window, and then returned his eyes to the clock. It now showed the time to be 6:12. He furrowed his brows, wondering how this was within the realm of possibility. He figured he had fallen asleep finally, if only for nineteen minutes.

His thoughts were interrupted by sounds in the hallway outside of the door to the flat. The sound of keys jangling was followed by quiet laughter, and then the sound of a woman shushing a man and more giggling.

The door opened.

John sprang out of bed, and ran out into the lounge, naked, not bothering with his pyjamas or a dressing gown.

Jack Harkness was standing in his lounge. John felt very self conscious as Jack surveyed John. He ran his eyes up and down John's lean physique.

"Looking good, Doc!" Jack said, with a cheeky grin.

"Harkness! What in the bloody hell are you doing in my flat on my first night home with my new wife?" John scowled, growled and grabbed an orange cushion and held it in front of his manly bits.

A busty middle-aged blonde woman walked in through the open screen door. "Oh honestly, Doctor, you could at least have the decency to put some clothes on!"

Jane came running out, but had had the foresight to wrap herself in John's dressing gown, which was far too long for her. Her hair was mussed, and her eyes were still swollen from sleep. She saw her husband's tight rear end, stifled a laugh and ran back into the bedroom to retrieve a blanket to drape around her husband.

"Jack, why are you in our flat at 6:15 in the morning?" Jane asked, irritated. "And who is that woman?" she pointed at the buxom blonde in the red dress.

"Okay, role playing can be a whole lot of fun in the bedroom, but guys, isn't this taking it a bit too far?" Jack asked, hands up defensively, but flashing a brilliant smile.

"What? What in...what are you talkin' about, Jack?" John screeched. "You need to leave, right now!" John trilled his r's, a sure sign of his anger. "I'm not a happy man right now. Honestly! What were you thinking! Bringing one of your conquests back here to our flat!"

"Conquest?" the woman asked with venomous accusation. "Conquest?" She put her hands on her hips, the angry fire in her eyes evident even in the dim light of the unlit room. "I ain't no conquest, Doctor. Jack and I went clubbing, not that it's any of your damn business! You forgot to give me a key in your hurry to get home and...and...shag!"

Jane gasped and put her hand over her mouth in shock.

"Oh, don't you pretend to be shy, young lady! I know how you two are. Like rabbits, the two of you! And furthermore, you didn't leave that bloody blue box you call a house unlocked! I knocked on this flat for a solid five minutes, just like you asked me to at that Hawaiian place last night. I figured the two of you were asleep, so Jack used his key. Now if you don't mind, I am knackered. Would you please unlock that ship of yours so I can go to my room and get some sleep before I slap you silly?"

"Lady, I have no idea who you are, and what is this rubbish about a blue box ship you're going on about?" John asked rudely.

"Whattya mean rubbish blue box?" Jackie screeched. "That rubbish blue box sitting on your rooftop garden!" Jackie pointed her red tipped finger in the general direction of the patio.

"Why would you sleep in my blue garden shed?" John screeched, voice at least one octave higher than normal.

Jack frowned as he listened to the exchange between his best friend and Jackie Tyler.

Jane stared at the buxom blonde woman, and then the lightbulb went off in her mind. "Ginger Miller? Is that you? What are you doing in London? And how do you know Jack Harkness?"

Jackie and Jack looked at each other, and then at the people that they knew as the Doctor and Rose. Neither answered Jane's question.

Jack decided to ask a probing question. "John, when did you and Jane get back from your honeymoon?"

"Last night," Jane answered on behalf of her fuming husband, much more kindly than John would have. "Were you the one who brought our luggage and clothes down from Scotland?"

"Yeah...that was me," Jack lied convincingly. "How was that honeymoon by the way? Aside from the obvious," he waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Anything exciting happen?"

John somehow managed to angrily cross his arms while still holding the blanket around his body. "You were there, of course it was exciting! You saw Daniel get hauled away by your spooky Torchwood associates." John heaved a heavy sigh and his face softened. "Sorry for yelling at ye. Ye saved my Jane...again, an' I ken I'll never be able to repay you for that."

"You're welcome, John. Any time, but um, John buddy, can I have a little talk here with...uh...Ginger?"

"Sure." John held the blanket securely around his torso and Jane followed him into their bedroom. He closed the door, giving Jack and 'Ginger' privacy.

"Jack, are you going to tell me what's going on?" Jackie asked, quietly nervous.

Jack pulled Jackie out onto the rooftop patio and closed the large sliding glass door. "We've got a helluva problem. I'm pretty sure they believe that they are John and Jane Smith, newlyweds. Mighty randy ones, too, if their hair and those hickeys I saw on the Doctor's neck and chest are any indication."

"Oi! That's me daughter you're talkin' about!"

Jack nodded and chuckled.

"Well can't you do somethin'?" Jackie begged desperately. "Use that sonic thing of his, that silver screwdriver deal he's always wavin' about! Maybe that'll snap him back into reality! Or take them into the TARDIS and have that ship of his shock him or somethin'!"

"Both good ideas, problem is, I don't have a key, but I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in the flat."

"Rose always wears hers around her neck on a chain, but she wasn't wearin' it last night when we went to that Tiki place. Maybe it's in her handbag?"

"And I bet the Doctor's sonic is in that brown coat of his, too. He doesn't go anywhere without it."

"He usually keeps it in his pinstriped suit coat, but I made him change. People woulda looked sideways at him in that brown pinstriped thing he refuses to change out of, so it probably is in his long coat."

Jack walked to the TARDIS. He tried to open the door, and as expected, it was locked.

"Let's go back in there and just talk to them...maybe something as simple as a reminder will snap them out of it?" Jack reasoned.

"Yeah, we could try that..." Jackie sighed and followed Jack back inside.

Jane had changed into her own dressing gown now, and John was wearing a rather ratty looking, but comfortable looking army-issue grey sweatshirt and sweats.

"Jack, Ginger why don't you stay for breakfast?" asked John. "Jane, do you think you could make enough for them?"

"Sure. Already planned on it, in fact!" she called from the kitchen, starting preparations for breakfast.

"Are you making an omelette?" asked John.

"Nope. I'm making American style pancakes. Didn't have enough eggs."

* * *

So the game has changed. {Evil laugh.} I'm sure you saw it coming. I'm not that unpredictable. Again, I am on the road right now, so updates may be sporadic.


	8. A Glimpse of Things to Come

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 7 - A Glimpse of Things to Come**

John sat on stool at the counter and observed his Jane. He propped his head on his hands grinning rather goofily, thoroughly smitten, as his wife prepared breakfast for the impromptu guests. The pancakes were flying off of the frying pan as she flipped them in the air with the deft flick of a wrist.

"How in the world do you _do_ that?" John asked as his eyes followed the pancake's trip from the pan into the air and back into the pan.

"Oh..." she drawled, "I don't know...just sort of came naturally to me." The tone of her voice wasn't quite as humble as her words. She cracked the hint of a half smile, proud to have impressed her very impressive husband.

oOo

The morning sun was now peeking above the horizon, brightly illuminating the rooftop garden. Jackie and Jack were trying to make sense of the Doctor and Rose's sudden transformation back to their alternate identities of John and Jane Smith; newlyweds, writers, and decidedly one hundred percent human.

"Hold on, if we just blurt out 'you aren't who you think you are' won't they have heart attacks? Or their brains might explode! Like how you aren't supposed to wake up someone who's sleep walking, right? Isn't it the same?" asked Jackie, concerned about Jack's plan to confront the Doctor and Rose, and hopefully snap them back into reality.

Jack stared at her with a blank face, wondering for a moment if Rose Tyler had been adopted.

"I think they're gonna be okay, Jackie," he said condescendingly. "And by the way, it's okay to wake up a sleep walker. I've slept with plenty of people in my life, and had to wake up my share of 'em who decided to go for a nighttime stroll. I promise, not one of 'em has keeled over...at least not from _that_."

Jackie crossed her arms and smirked at the back of Jack's head as she followed him inside of the posh, ultra modern flat.

oOo

"These pancakes are brilliant!" John said plucking a second cooked cake from the stack, mouth still full from the first.

"I was meaning to ask you..." Jane began hesitantly, "I just used the last of the eggs... And I noticed, well, John, your larder is rather...sparse. I think I need to do some marketing, that is, if you want to, you know, eat." She cleared her voice, somewhat nervously. "Do you plan on retaining Mrs. Pincer?"

"I was planning on it, unless you don't want me to. She is such a dear, and I would hate to sack her, having just hired her, her being a widow-"

"Oh no! No! Don't do that! I just thought that, maybe, you expected me to do all that 'cos-"

"I love your cooking Jane, and you can cook whenever you want. Mrs. Pincer can do the marketing and tidying and cook when you don't feel like it."

"But no liver and onions, right?"

"No liver and onions," John beamed back. "Eggs, eh?"

"Yes, I used the last of them for the pancake batter, and I know I will want an omelette at some point." Jane bit her lip and flirtatiously cocked her head to the side recalling their joint omelette preparation and the subsequent activities.

"Oh, you like my omelette, do you?" He waggled his eyebrows. "I could whisk you _good_."

Jane groaned at the double entendre, but blushed all the same as she continued to watch the cakes in the frying pan.

"Would you like an omelette?" he asked suggestively, but then John blinked, shook his head and looked at his wife, confused, though only for a moment before a smile of recognition beamed. "Hello!"

"Hello!" Rose looked at the Doctor, clarity settling in. She held up the pancake flipper and laughed. "Was I really flipping pancakes?"

"Jane is very talented...at a great many things." The Doctor waggled his eyebrows. He walked around the counter, and pushed up against Rose's back. He drew her hair aside, brought his mouth close and breathed softly into her ear.

Rose smiled and shuddered at the feeling of his cooler-than-human breath moving across the skin of her neck. "And John was very talented at-"

He placed a soft, lingering, open-mouthed kiss behind her ear, humming into her neck as he did so.

Rose's breath hitched, her voice now unable to form words. She gripped the squared-off edge of the clean white Formica countertop and held on, preparing for the inevitable pleasure to come.

"You were saying?" he whispered into her ear. His hands sculpted the curves of her waist and hips, and then moved around to the front. He slipped one hand inside of her dressing gown and palmed the bare skin of her breast. He tugged on the bow of the sash, and turned Rose around in his arms, pushing the garment off of her shoulders, exposing her from the waist up. The Doctor leaned in to take his mouth to her breast.

"Honestly! Can't you two keep your clothes on? You have guests!" Jackie Tyler hollered.

Rose startled and screamed at the sound of her mother's voice and together she and the Doctor collapsed behind the counter.

"Mum, what're ya' doin' here?" Rose screeched as she quickly covered herself before slowly standing back up and smoothing out her hair. She held the collar of the dressing gown tightly to her neck with one hand.

"What do you mean what am I doing here? Jack and I just got here, and you said you were making us pancakes!"

"I have no idea what you're-uh-oh..." Rose blanched as she remembered.

"You see Jackie, we...oh...never mind." The Doctor shook his head. "Right. Pancakes. Help yourselves. Rose and I are going to go get dressed, aren't we, Rose?"

Together, they dashed into their bedroom. Deliberately slow and quiet, the Doctor turned and closed the door.

"Please tell me this is John dreaming?" the Doctor begged as he ran his hand through his wild-from-bed hair.

Rose pressed her lips together and then spewed a laugh, shaking her head. "Nope. Completely real. Mum just walked in on you and me."

The Doctor groaned and sat down onto the bed. "I think I'd rather be slapped by your mother than nearly caught in flagrante delicto."

Rose she sat down next to him. "It's going to happen again, you know. We are rather spontaneous. Do you think we should find a place for her?"

"Just remember that you suggested it first, not me, when we go out there and tell her."

"We'll do it together, _after_ we get dressed." Rose got off the bed.

"Don't expect me to touch you in the shower, either." He pointed at her, and leveled a serious look. "Not with _her_ out there. No! With both Jack _and_ her out there."

Rose gave him a dirty grin and spoke to him silently. _"I can be quiet if you can be quiet..."_

His smile quickly mirrored hers and he followed her into the shower for some silent shenanigans.

oOo

"Well that's a relief," Jackie said dramatically as soon as Rose and the Doctor had vacated the room.

"Damn! Those two are hot," Jack muttered under his breath.

"I'm going to ignore the fact that you just said that," Jackie said, pouring herself a cup of tea that her daughter had prepared when she was still Jane. She took a sip. "This is properly good tea, and these pancakes are delicious too."

"Jane was a fantastic cook, so John, Bess and Niles said. Is Rose a good cook?"

Jackie laughed. "My Rose? Cooking? Not hardly. Beans on toast, boiling water for pot noodle, opening a bag of crisps or peeling an orange..."

Jack grinned as he filled his plate with food and spooned the jarred berry jam that Jane had warmed as an impromptu topping for the pancakes.

"When we were traveling together on the TARDIS, the Doctor did most of the cooking, or we grabbed something out. One time Rose decided she wanted to surprise us with breakfast. She caught the oatmeal on fire. I have no idea how she managed it, considering-"

"You telling tales about me, Jack? That's not very nice of you. And I'll have you know I am a good cook now."

"Thanks to cooking lessons from me," the Doctor muttered under his breath.

Rose hit him playfully on the arm. An awkward silence fell over the foursome.

"Mum, I've been thinking..."

"Rose, I've been thinking..."

The women spoke in unison.

"You first, Mum," offered Rose, pouring herself and the Doctor cups of tea.

"I think I'm going to try and find a place of my own. This just isn't going to work. It hasn't even been twenty-four hours, and I've _already_ walked in on the two of you...well, you know. You're still newlyweds for heaven's sake! You need your privacy, and if we're gonna be stuck here for six months like himself says, I'm gonna go barmy not bein' on my own. Now what were you going to say swee'hear'?"

"I'll help you Jackie. We'll find you the perfect place," the Doctor answered before Rose could even speak. "In the meantime Jackie Tyler, why don't you go into the wardrobe and find yourself some clothing? There should be luggage, even. Everything you'll need."

"Doctor, why don't I take Mum shoppin'? Let her pick out a few things of her own? I bet you'd like to go to Henrik's, wouldn't ya, Mum?"

"Might do," Jackie replied, blasé. "I know one thing though. I need to get out of this thing." She looked down at her red cocktail dress, now rumpled. "And my feet are killin' me. Jack took me dancing to a few fun places last night."

Rose cocked her hip and looked at her mother, pointing a finger accusingly. "Speaking of which, what were you doing coming in at 6:30 in the morning?"

"My bein' out all night never seemed to bother you before," Jackie countered.

"You've never been out all night with Jack Harkness in 1963 before," Rose replied respectfully, though the warning tone in her voice was plain.

"Now see here, Rose, I'm a grown woman and-"

"Ladies, ladies, we're all adults here, some of us older than others-" Jack said, voice full of charm.

"I kept up with you well enough last night," Jackie countered. "Now don't you go calling me old," Jackie teased.

"I wasn't referring to you," Jack said with a wink directed at the Doctor, who rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

"Jackie, I have to agree with Rose on this one. We aren't doubting your ability to take care of yourself. But you aren't used to time travel. There are certain rules by which you must abide, and when you are impaired-"

"Now you're sayin' I can't hold my drink!"

"I'm not saying that. I'm saying that in a...more relaxed state, you may forget those rules. Now I assume that you knocked back a few while you were out pub crawling, right?" asked the Doctor.

"Course. I did! Jack and me was havin' a nice time, we were. I met quite a few fine gentlemen, too. Did some dancing, some drinking, didn't get pissed off my skull, if that's what you're wonderin'..."

"What if you ran into someone who was a relative, hmm? And you didn't recognize them? What would you do?" asked the Doctor, deadly serious.

"What do you mean? What would I do? I'd give em a great big hug and buy em a drink of course!"

The Doctor made an obnoxious sound, mimicking the wrong answer buzzer from a quiz show. "Wrong answer. You would turn around, and walk, no, you would_ run_ away as fast as you could. You would leave, and never look back. You mess with one of your relatives? You might be messing with your very existence. _Capiche_? Ooh, I like that one. Rose do you like that one?"

She smirked.

"Okay, I won't say _capiche_. But do you understand, Jackie?"

"Alright, alright! I get it! This you is so much more uptight than future you. My goodness..." Jackie took her teacup to the black sofa in the lounge and sat down, kicking off her spectacularly sexy, but excruciating high heeled shoes. Rose joined her, and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Listen Mum, he knows what he's talking about." Rose looked at her irritated mother. "Don't be that way."

Jackie screwed up her mouth, and pouted a bit. "I just wanted to have a bit of fun, you know. And I did...had a great time. No harm in that, right?"

"No harm in that. Time travel is oodles of fun! Rose, have we met an Ood yet?"

"Can't say that we have. But I bet Ood would have oodles of noodles for fun."

The Doctor made a pleased noise in the back of his throat, and then turned his attention back to Jackie. "So why do you think we travel so much? Well," drawled the Doctor, "other than that little bit about saving the universe from time to time, we do it because it's fun. And I promise you Jackie Tyler, brilliant, brilliant mother of my Rose, you are going to have fun. I promise."

Jackie's face softened. "I only have to remember the rules, right?"

"Yep. Remember the rules."

"I'm going to go change out of these things and take a kip. Rose, unlock that blue box of his, would you sweet'hear'? And show me my room?"

"Sure, Mum."

Jackie and Rose retreated to the rooftop garden where the TARDIS was parked, leaving Jack and the Doctor to themselves.

The Doctor dropped onto a black chair and relaxed. "So, you actually took Jackie Tyler clubbing. What exactly was _that_ like?"

"Jackie's a fantastic woman, Doc. And before you ask, no, I am not interested in her in _that_ way, not that she doesn't have her charms," Jack said with a grin.

"Don't want to know." The Doctor put up his hands as a warning sign to stop.

"So Doc...you gonna tell me what that whole John and Jane thing was about?" Jack asked casually.

"None of your business, Jack."

"You were role playing, weren't you? Some freaky Time Lord trick so John and Jane got to have a night in the swinging bachelor flat, right?"

The Doctor stared at his friend. "Noooooo," he lied unconvincingly.

"Awww, come on, _John_. Never used to keep secrets from me before..."

"Stop it," he warned.

"I'm just teasin'. Hey, believe me, I think I understand. John and Jane really had something special, and if you had the chance to relive that for a night, then that's fantastic. But it's good to have the real you and Rose back."

The Doctor shook his head and laughed quietly, and then took a sip of his tea. "So. Torchwood, eh? See a lot of alien activity here on good old planet Earth?"

"The odd stray here and there. Nine times out of ten, they are friendly. But the tenth?" He raised an eyebrow. "Could have used your help a few times. Speaking of friendly aliens, I never told you what we did to Daniel to get him to talk."

"Anything reportable to the Shadow Proclamation?" the Doctor asked wryly.

"Naw. Not unless you call cross-species social introductions illegal. We threw him in the back of a lorry with a couple of Scorpoliths. Female Scorpoliths."

"Scorpolith...Scorpolith...why does that name sound familiar?"

"Bipedal arthropods." Jack took a sip of tea. "Completely harmless, but very tactile creatures. Big pincers." Jack mimicked the motion with his hands. "We encouraged them to take a few scientific observations. Scared the hell out of Danny Boy, enough to make him tell us where Jane was hidden." Jack stopped and squinted for a moment. "Doc, did I tell you how Daniel got ahold of the marriage certificate? Y'know, the fake one?"

The Doctor smiled. "I had forgotten about that. Cheeky...whoever thought up was pretty smart. The Anglicized name of the faux officiant was John Smith. Can't figure out why Reinette Poisson - Madame de Pompadour - was named my wife, though. Odd choice. Very specific. Purposeful even." The Doctor looked out into infinity as he thought to himself.

"Maybe it's a clue for the future. You and Rose. It was you and Rose who sold it to Higgins. He told me himself."

"What?"

"Yep. And Rose's pregnancy was pretty advanced from the way he described her."

"So we escape 1963 before she delivers, eh?"

"Looks that way." Jack swallowed hard and took a final gulp of tea, hiding the disappointment in his eyes behind the white china cup.

The Doctor cringed a bit, and then furrowed his brows.

"Hey, what's wrong, Doc?"

"Timelines have been odd ever since we arrived. Sometimes they go all...wibbly-wobbly, fuzzy-wuzzy." The Doctor reached deep into a pocket of his suit coat, dug around, and produced a plain looking black reporter's notebook. "Here. Do me a favor? Write down your observations about anything you think is important as it occurs. And oh! Also record what you just told me about Daniel and the marriage certificate. And oh also! Anything about our time as John and Jane that was odd. And oh! One more -"

"Alright, alright! I got it Doc." Jack chuckled. "Write the important stuff in this notebook."

"But only write it in this notebook...it's time locked. If timelines shift, your memories will adapt and adjust to the new timeline, but whatever you write in this notebook will remain intact. Even my memories might go off kilter, but whatever is in this notebook? Can't be erased. Can't be re-written. And it is bigger on the inside. See? It only has a few pages."

Jack opened the small notebook and flipped through the pages. "Where'd you find this?"

"Notebooks R Us."

"You can't be serious."

"Perfectly. Bought it at their flagship shop on Valmute."

The Doctor heard the sliding glass door to the rooftop terrance open and close.

"Hello." Rose joined kissed the Doctor softly on the cheek. "Mum's sleepin'. The TARDIS moved a room next to the kitchen."

Jack looked down at his watch. "Oh, I need to go to work, I'm already late."

Jack saluted sloppily as he made his exit.

"Want to go into the office? Start working on the book?" asked Rose.

"Sure..."

"Alright mister, what's wrong?"

"Something strange is happening, Rose. I can feel it. Trouble is coming. Timelines are blurring, timelines that should be fixed. I don't like it." He took Rose into his arms and rested his chin on her head. "And the TARDIS is sick, and we're stuck..."

"Stuck with you, that's not so bad..."

His smile returned. "Not bad at all. So _Jane_, shall we head into the office for a little while? Do some work on the book?"

"Sounds like a great idea, _John_!"

* * *

I'm back! (well sort of...) Some of you know that I am in the midst of a cross country move. We are currently in temporary housing while we wait for our permanent residence to be ready for moving day. Four people and one 90 pound dog sharing 500 square feet is not particularly conducive to writing, but I did squeeze a few words out. If you are interested, I will also be posting a new AU Movie!Verse ficlet, perhaps 5 or 6 chapters long, called _My Fair Rose._ It is based very loosely upon _Notting Hill _with a touch of _My Fair Lady _thrown in for good measure. First chapter should be up today or tomorrow.

I've missed writing, so I'm glad that my muse has returned!


	9. And So It Begins

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 8 - And So It Begins**

_Mum, hope you had a good sleep. I went to the office with the Doctor to do some writing. Ring my mobile when you wake up, but please don't leave the flat before you call. Don't forget, if you leave the TARDIS you won't be able to get back in. Love you! -R_

Knowing that sometime in her mother's past and the Doctor's future, her mother had been furnished with her very own Superphone, Rose slid the note under her mother's bedroom door along with a key to their flat, though she truly hoped her mother would not yet venture out on her own.

Rose wound her way out of the TARDIS, skimming her fingertips along the walls as she walked the corridor. The lighting was dim both before and behind, but as Rose progressed onward, the beloved ship illuminated the path as she went along so Rose would not bump or trip within the darkened hallway. _"Take care of Mum, alright? You won't let her get lost, yeah?"_ Rose thought. She still wasn't quite sure how literal her communication was with the TARDIS, but somehow she knew that the ship understood, and would make sure that Jackie Tyler would be comfortable and safe.

Once outside of the magic blue box, Rose walked to the edge of the rooftop garden and looked out over Chelsea. The building which housed their flat was one of the tallest in the neighborhood, and she could see a sliver of the River Thames a few blocks away. The morning air was fresh, and a slight breeze rustled her 1963 hairdo. Rose had not lacquered her hair with the circa 1963 hairspray that Bess had brought over from Jane's old flat along with Jane's things. Instead Rose used a soft-to-the-touch product that she had picked up while honeymooning on Barcelona, the planet not the city.

Rose heard the sliding glass door open. She turned to look over her shoulder and saw the Doctor in all of his dapper John Smith glory.

Earlier that morning, after much deliberation and even a bit of an argument, they had mutually agreed that he was going to have to give in, and dress the part of John Smith. It would simply draw too much attention to himself if he wore his brown pinstripes every day. John had dressed very fashionably, and people would notice if his style suddenly changed. Today, he opted for one of John's suits. It was indeed brown pinstripes, but cut according to the current fashion. He'd then searched through the TARDIS wardrobe until he found a tie which "wasn't boring." He even wore dress shoes instead of Chucks, after Rose promised it would all be worth it in the end, and kissed him until his pout disappeared.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, spread his fingers over her still-flat belly, and rested his chin on her shoulder. "Jackie sorted?"

"Yeah. Asked her to ring me up when she woke up, and to not leave the flat until we'd talked."

"Do you think she'll follow your instructions?"

"I think so." Rose turned around in his arms and rested her back on the masonry wall as she wound her arms up around her neck. "We're stuck." Rose screwed up her mouth.

"Yeah," he drawled.

It was the first time since the incident that they both had allowed themselves to show their disappointment being grounded. They had both been keeping up appearances for Jackie, to calm her fears.

"Sorry about yellin' at ya this mornin', Doctor. Wear your pinstripes if ya want. You could make a perception filter or somethin'...make 'em think you're wearin' somethin' different everyday, yeah?" Rose suggested.

"Naw... This isn't so bad." He looked down at his suit and smirked. "Who am I kidding. It's dreadful. How did John ever wear these rubbish clothes? They're so...itchy!" He squirmed.

"At least you didn't have to wear granny pants..." Rose snickered.

"You're not wearing granny pants now are you?"

"No..." she grinned. "When I was a kid, Mum always warned me ta change my knickers in case I was in an accident. I just better not get inta one today, or else the hospital workers are gonna to wonder what kind of a woman I am, wearin' such skimpy knickers."

The Doctor skimmed his hands over her bum. "No pantylines, you minx."

"You've tainted me, Mr. Smith," she growled into his mouth.

"Over and over and over..."

They kissed until Rose's breath was hitching, and she knew she'd better stop or else they would be late for work. She pulled away and leaned her cheek on his chest. "I know you're disappointed about being stuck, and to be honest, so am I. I didn't think we'd be spending the next six months back in London pretending to be John and Jane."

"I'm not exactly disappointed, it's more like...supremely _frustrated_." The Doctor pulled his head away and furrowed his brow and set his jaw. "But I know we're supposed to be here. The timelines are clear on that, well, clear enough...To be honest, they're a right mess."

"That proves it. We really _are _supposed to be here then." Rose sighed. "Ready to play John and Jane?"

"Sure. Does my hair look okay?" he asked, smoothing it down with a frown.

"Hold on, just need to do this one little thing." Rose reached up and pulled down a bit of his fringe so that it was perfectly imperfect. One stray lock had always fallen down over John's left eye, and Jane had found it irresistible. "There. Let's go set some tongues wagging."

The Doctor quickly kissed Rose on the cheek, and together they left the flat as John and Jane Smith, newlyweds.

oOo

"_Ready?"_ Rose turned to the Doctor and silently asked her husband as they waited in the lobby for the lift doors to open.

"_Allons-y," _he replied, trying hard to be genuinely cheerful.

The lift doors slid open, and a young man in a uniform greeted the pair. "G'mornin'. What floor?" he asked.

"Prescott Publishing on five, please," replied Rose quietly, replicating Jane's reserved persona.

"You must be..." the Doctor paused for a moment, sad, "Jim's replacement. "I'm the Doc, erm, John Smith, and this is my wife Jane Smith. We're just back from our honeymoon."

"_Doctor, your accent..." _Rose mentally reminded him.

The Doctor spoke again, this time with John's soft Scottish accent. "First day back. That's right. First day back and we're going to write. Going to do lots and lots of writing. Have to catch up, we do, or else Bess Cooper, she's our editor... Bess is going to be very, very cross with us." The words spilled from his mouth.

"You're John Smith? I'm in the lift with John Smith! Ha! That rhymes!" the young man gushed.

"You're a poet and ya dinnae know it!" The Doctor eplied cheerfully.

"Your books are really fine, Sir! I'm a student, well part time for now. Savin' up to go full time. I'm taking night classes to become a writer myself. I don't write science fiction, though. Not bright enough for that."

"Ah, sure ya are! Just string together a few spacey wacey words and bam! You're reversing the polarity of the neutron flow!" The Doctor patted the young man on the shoulder. "What's your name, lad?"

"Benson. William Benson, but everyone calls me Billy, sir."

"Don't...don't call me sir. Call me John...fellow writers all."

"Really?" squeaked Billy. "Won't I get in trouble?"

"Naw...not with me. So Billy Benson, what do you write?" the Doctor asked, genuinely interested.

"Nothing yet, but I have a billion ideas running through my head, just bursting to get onto paper. I have this idea...an archaeologist who gets into all sorts of scrapes."

"Do you have a background in archaeology?"

"Well, no..."

"I'll give you a piece of advice. Write what you know."

The lift slowed to a stop.

"Looks like we're here, Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Have a productive day."

"Nice to meet you Billy Benson." The Doctor comically enunciated the 'Bs' in his name.

"Bye." Rose smiled at Billy as they exited the lift into the modern reception area of Prescott Publishing.

"Good morning Barbara," Jane cheerily greeted the receptionist as the pair turned left to head towards John Smith's office.

"Jane! Hold on!" Barbara called. "We've all been so worried! We heard that Daniel kidnapped you!" Barbara left her post behind the modern, circular receptionist station and pulled Jane into a crushing hug.

"Um, yeah...but I don't really want to talk about it..." Rose replied, frowning. "But...I do have some good news," said Rose, deflecting the conversation away from that particular chapter of her life as Jane. "John and I...we got married up in Scotland on Monday."

"You what?!" Barbara's eyes were wide with surprise. "That's fantastic! How'd you arrange that?"

"Special license," the Doctor answered with an eyebrow waggle. "We have a friend who has...connections." He smiled at Rose.

"How romantic," Barbara said, clasping her hands dramatically.

"It was...it was perfect..." Rose told her friend. "John wore his kilt," Rose said, blushing at the memory of how Jane had _removed_ said kilt.

"We need to go to lunch soon. You can tell me _everything,"_ Barbara said with a teasing twinkle in her eye. "We'll play truth, just like your hen night."

"Hey! I'm right here!" The Doctor protested, his hands on his slender hips.

"Don't worry, John," Rose teased, patting his arm, "I won't tell her any secrets, well, not _too_ many."

"I'm going to head down to the office, love," the Doctor said, kissing his wife quickly on the cheek.

"I'll be right there," she called after him.

"Rose, darling!" Bess came barreling down the corridor.

Rose turned around and smiled a her friend. "Hi Bess!" Rose hugged her and whispered into her ear. "You called me Rose."

Bess pulled away and held her at arm's length. "_Jane_, I've decided I'm not going to have _roses_ for my wedding," she skillfully backpedaled.

Rose snickered, as did Bess, who shook her head and subtly rolled her eyes, at her own slip of the tongue.

"Jane, Barbara, how about we grab Betty and all go to lunch on Monday?" Bess suggested.

"Only one missing from the group would be Miss Woods," mused Barbara sadly. "She still hasn't been found. Neither has that sweet Jim, the lift man. Can't say I miss Priscilla or Daniel, though."

Bess glanced sideways at Rose, who was now looking down and picking her fingers.

"Yeah...maybe...it wouldn't be such a good idea yet..." Rose sighed.

"Of course it's a good idea, Jane!" Bess laid her hand in Rose's arm.

Rose felt a mental hug of encouragement from her friend. She concentrated in an attempt to answer her friend telepathically. Bess jumped, startled at the basic contact of the returned mental hug.

"Alright, I guess lunch would be okay. I'd better get to the office. John is really itching to work on the book."

"I'll walk you down," Bess offered.

Rose regained her smile and together they headed towards the office she shared would be sharing with her husband for the next six months. As she approached the typing pool, she couldn't help but shiver as she passed Priscilla's vacant desk.

"S'weird bein' back, Bess," Rose said quietly to her friend.

"I imagine it is, darling, especially now that you are _you_, and not Jane."

"Have I been convincing enough? Do I sound like her?" Rose asked nervously.

"Close enough. You're definitely more outgoing and relaxed than Jane, but maybe people will think that's because you're married now."

"I wonder what John and Jane would have been like together, you know, once they were married."

"You would've been a pair of tornadoes, that's what!" Bess said with a grin. "Betty has been promoted...she is now Clerical Manager and Mr. Prescott's Executive Assistant. She was most senior behind Eve in clerical. She kicked and screamed, of course. We have placed an advert in the paper...we need three new typists."

"Poor Betty, I bet she's a nervous wreck," Rose replied.

There were only two typists working in the pool. Rose had not become friendly with either woman when she was Jane. Both had been gossips and friends of Priscilla's, and neither had made any attempt to befriend Jane, either.

"Welcome back, Jane," said one of the two women with a cold smile.

"Thanks Cynthia. It's good to be back," Rose replied quietly, making her best effort to sound like the quiet girl that was Jane.

"I hear you were kidnapped by Daniel," Cynthia asked with dubious concern, eager to hear story.

"Uh, yes. I was. Might I ask how you know about that?" asked Rose, brow furrowed.

"_You_ know how news travels around here!" Cynthia replied with a dismissive flap of the hand. "Priscilla and Daniel have disappeared. I'm so worried about Prissy. Daniel was no good for her. Treated her like yesterday's rubbish," she said with genuine conviction. "I heard they ran off to Paris together. I hope she's going to be alright."

Rose didn't comment, and simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Miss Crookshanks, how are you coming along on the second edit of _My Life: A Journey_?"

"Nearly complete Miss Cooper. I should have it to you by lunch."

"Very good Miss Crookshanks," Bess said with authority, but not unkindly. "Sorry you have to type up that awful old book. I'll be glad when that thing is published and out of my hair. It's simply awful."

Cynthia snorted a laugh. "Not every book can be a masterpiece."

"Jane, darling, isn't it about time that you met up with John in his office? Remember, the two of you owe me a draft on your chapter on Tuesday."

"Yeah...I mean...yes...Bess," Rose answered, a bit dazed. She turned slowly to walk towards the office of the man whom Jane had fallen in love with during that magical month.

Bess stayed behind to give Cynthia a few more instructions.

The was waiting for Rose, arms open. He could feel the pain in Rose's mind. He wiped the fresh tears that were trailing down her cheeks with his thumbs before he led her to the familiar orange sofa at the end of the office. They sat down side-by-side, and the Doctor pulled Rose tightly into his side.

"What happened?" he asked quietly.

"It just hit me, I guess, everything that happened here. I walked by Priscilla's desk and...the bad stuff, I mean, not the good stuff...just flooded my memory." She looked at the Doctor, who squeezed her again. "Jim and Eve dying, and what Daniel and Priscilla did...it was all just so horrible, and I don't know that I had really even admitted it to myself until now. What would have happened if the Family had found us? What would have Daniel done to me hadn't John, I mean you, rescued me in time?"

"You're playing _timey wimey what if_ again, aren't you, love?" the Doctor whispered into her ear.

Rose nodded, the ponytail that erupted from the top of her head bobbed. She reached for a tissue and blew her nose.

"Don't. I has to be hard for you to get used to understanding timelines, Rose, and I know that you see them differently than me. But don't let them rule. _None_ of that happened. _I did find_ _you_ before Daniel could harm you. The Family _didn't_ find us. Our baby is _safe_."

"I know...I just...I saw Priscilla's empty desk out there and everything came flooding back."

"Do you want to work from home instead of coming here into the office?" he asked. "Dr. Lambert _did_ want you to take time off from work, Rose."

"She wanted _Jane_ to take time off from work," Rose corrected her husband.

"Rose, _Love_, Jane _is_ you! Every memory, action, thought, desire, want, need, experience...what Jane was...that's all part of you now. Just like John is a part of me! Now it's awfully handy that we went through this experience together, because I would have hated to have gone through it alone...without someone who loved me as much as you do. To wake up from being John without you there? To wake up alone? Or to have come back having loved someone who didn't love me back? Someone who loved John but not me? That would be..." The Doctor swallowed hard. "That would be unpleasant."

"I know..." she conceded. "I guess I just don't know how to move on as Rose. Am I supposed to be a different person now because Jane is a part of me?"

"No..." He shook his head. "Not a different person, a changed person perhaps, but not different."

Rose sighed and dropped her head onto the Doctor's shoulder. "And there was no way to save Jim or Eve?"

"No. I'm sorry. They were dead the minute Father and Mother invaded them."

Rose quietly sniffed and cleared her throat. "The book...I think we need to get working on the book." She decisively slapped her thighs, stood up and headed for the desk where Jane's typewriter sat, untouched since the previous Friday. "Now where were Iris and the Professor?"

The Doctor decided it was better to not to push the matter right now, but they were going to have to have a serious conversation sooner rather than later.

"Well..." The Doctor scrubbed his face with his hand. "Read me the last paragraph please."

oOo

The morning continued uneventfully, save periodic visits from well-wishers as the news spread of John and Jane's nuptials in Scotland on Monday. They even made some progress on the chapter. The clock struck five, and the couple gathered their things.

"Do you want to go out for dinner or eat at the flat?" Rose asked as she slipped on her coat.

"In," the Doctor replied with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Well we won't have to worry about Mum walking in on us. I forgot to tell you. She called my mobile while you were in the break room getting a cup of tea. Bess and I also talked, and, well, I was going to save it as a surprise, but I'll just tell you. She packed up and moved to my old flat today. Bess picked her up and moved her things at lunchtime."

"She did?" The Doctor walked closer and put his arms around Rose's waist.

"Mmm hmm." Rose wrapped her arms around the Doctor's neck.

Their kiss was heating up quickly, but they were startled from their passion by the sound of a man clearing his throat.

"I see that the newlyweds are doing well." It was Mr. Prescott himself, and he was smiling brightly.

"Cannae help a lad for wantin' ta' kiss his gorgeous wife, now can ye?" The Doctor poured on all of his charm.

"Right you are there, John, my boy! Congratulations. And best wishes Mrs. Smith!" Mr. Prescott approached her a bit timidly. "There is another reason I stopped by. Mrs. Smith...Jane...I wish to offer my personal, heartfelt apology for Mr. Higgins's actions. I was not aware of his abominable behavior until Monday."

"It's not your fault Mr. Prescott," Rose replied.

"It may not be my fault, but my inaction and blind eye to the many complaints from other women certainly didn't help matters."

"Thank you Mr. Prescott." Rose nodded and gravely accepted his apology.

"I would request, however, that you not discuss the matter with anyone other than myself, Miss Cooper or your husband. There are...legal matters."

"Such as...?" the Doctor probed.

"I'm not at liberty to say." Mr. Prescott, ever the businessman, smiled enigmatically.

"Oh, you can tell us!" the Doctor said with charm. "I assume that there is always the question of his financial stake in the company. Who's going to control Prescott now...considering old Danny Boy held the majority investment." The Doctor casually pushed his hands into his pockets and looked down his nose at Mr. Prescott.

Mr. Prescott's cheek twitched nervously.

"I've done my homework," the Doctor said with a wink. "No worries. We'll be discreet. Speaking of the other women who were harmed, they weren't as brave as my brilliant wife, here." The Doctor turned and kissed Rose on the cheek. "One of these women truly deserves compensation, in the least. Her job was threatened, so she complied with Higgins's demands." The Doctor took off his glasses put them in his pocket. "I don't know that I want to write for a publisher who allows such things to happen."

"Perhaps you and I should talk next week, Mr. Smith," Mr. Prescott replied, his neck growing red as his blood pressure increased. He shifted his weight between his feet as he felt the balance of power shifting to the tall, thin man. Mr. Prescott cleared his throat. "Have a lovely weekend Mr. and Mrs. Smith." He left without another word.

Rose bit her lip and smiled at the Doctor. "Nicely done. You're talking about Barbara, aren't you?"

"Yep."

"Want to take me home, _John?"_

"I would love to take you home, _Jane_." The Doctor extended his arm and Rose looped hers through.

oOo

Radio channel 9,921, "Martinis at Midnight" played on the hi-fidelity stereo that the Doctor had retrofitted to pick up digital satellite radio broadcasts from 22nd century London. The Doctor, Rose and Jackie sat at the counter and ate a simple supper of green salad and broiled fish that Rose had prepared. They picked up Jackie on the way home so they could share dinner together. Rose had prepared a grocery list for Mrs. Pincer that morning, and sure enough, the groceries were there when the couple arrived home just before six o'clock.

"Rose, this is amazing! I didn't believe Jack when he said you were a good cook, but I do now," Jackie said with her mouth full.

"Thanks. I think," she laughed. "So...how's the flat? What do you think of Bess's place?" Rose asked.

"It's so posh! Your bed is so comfortable! I'm gettin' spoiled for sure. Between my bed in my room on the TARDIS and this one at Bess's flat, I don't know that I'll want to go back to my old one!"

"You know where the best beds are?" the Doctor interrupted. "Poosh."

"Are they cuuuushy?" Rose asked comically.

"Lots of cuuush on Poosh."

Jackie laughed at their antics, feeling relaxed and happy. She took a sip of the white wine in her goblet. She ate the final bite of fish, and set down her silverware. "Well, I'll be off then. Jack is pickin' me up at seven at my new place. We're goin' out to some favorite pub of his."

"Mum..." Rose protested.

"What do ya expect me ta do? Sit around the flat listening ta the radio for six months?"

"Well no..." Rose said, toying with a piece of fish with her fork.

"I'll get you a telly, Jackie. I'll even do some jiggery pokery so it picks up your favorite shows. How does that sound?" the Doctor offered.

"That sounds fine, but I'm gonna get tired of that, even. I think I'm going to go out and look for a job on Monday."

Rose nodded. "That's probably a good idea, Mum."

"And about tonight, I ain't stayin' out all hours again, Swee'hear'. I ain't daft. I know my limits and I know the rules Himself here keeps harpin' on."

"Please. Be careful, Mum. Jack is...smooth. He's promised me his intentions are good, but...he is Jack."

"Oh, I know all about Jack, _believe_ me! And he ain't interested in me. Not one bit. We're just mates. I promise."

oOo

"So where ya takin' me luv?" Jackie asked her friend as she climbed into his vehicle.

"To one of my favorite pubs. It's in Whitechapel."

"I grew up in Whitechapel!" Jackie exclaimed. "Kinda rough place, but my family did well for ourselves, and it was home."

"Well, this will be fun then..." Jack said with a twinkle in his eye.

oOo

Rose and the Doctor reclined on the floor, leaning against their black leather sofa. Their skin glistened in the firelight, the sheen was evidence of their lovemaking, glowing in the flickering light. She threaded her fingers through his, and pulled his hand to her chest. He ran his fingers through her hair, teasing and scratching her scalp with his fingertips in the way she loved so much. She leaned on his chest and listened to the steady, comforting rhythm of his dual hearts beating and fingered the soft hair, drawing his name with her fingertip.

The Doctor withdrew his hand from her hair and moved it down to her abdomen, palming the flat flesh which would soon swell with the life that was growing within at an exponential rate. He smiled as their son reached out, sending the most basic of communication, a simple beacon of his existence, to his mother and father.

"I love you, Rose Tyler," he whispered, as he bent over and tenderly kissed her belly.

Rose fingered the hair at the nape of the Doctor's neck as he continued to press open mouthed, slow and soft kisses to her belly, hips and waist. Her sighs of contentment soon became moans of arousal as his tender touches gave way to needy grabbing and fondling, licking and nipping, sucking and marking.

oOo

Jackie ordered a pint and brought it back to the large plank table where Jack was sitting. He had already found a group of friendly locals and was laughing boisterously along with the mixed group of men, women, factory workers, office clerks and shop girls.

"You gonna introduce me, Jack?" Jackie asked with a flirtatious smile.

"Don't know 'em yet. Everybody this is Ginger. Ginger, this is everybody."

"Hi Ginger!" the group musically called out in unison. They went around the table and introduced themselves one by one.

"Nice ta meetcha everybody!"

"Hiya Georgie! Your old woman let you outta prison, eh?" one of the men called to a handsome man as he walked with his beverage to the table.

"She always lets me out on Fridays!" the man replied with a boisterous laugh. He bumped into the woman to his left. "'Scuse me luv," he said as her ale sloshed a bit out of her glass.

"No worries, mate," Jackie said as she turned to the man. She drew in a quick breath as she was face to face with her very own father, George Prentice.

oOo

The Doctor and Rose stood up, never breaking their kiss as they moved their activities to their bedroom. Rose walked backwards until she felt the back of her knees hit the soft bedspread. She sat down, and the then moved backwards, as the Doctor hovered over her. They were both gasping and panting as they moved into position, preparing once again to physically unite.

The Doctor froze, hovering over Rose. He reached down to her stomach and closed his eyes, searching for something. His breathing halted.

"Rose, do you feel alright?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I feel great...really great in fact," she growled, pulling his head down to hers, craving his lips.

"No, stop! Rose...I felt...something...our son...something happened..."

"Doctor?" she asked, chilled by the tone of his voice and the fear in his mind.

He closed his eyes, furrowed his brows and concentrated, reached out, feeling for his son. His face softened, and he relaxed. "It's fine. He's fine. Whatever happened has stopped..."

"But what happened?"

"I don't know. But I thought that for a microsecond, just a microsecond, he blinked out of existence...just disappeared..."

Rose sat up, face blanched. "It's not over."

* * *

I'm back! The move went relatively smoothly, though it was a long, tiring process.

And so...it begins.


	10. A Wrinkle in Timelines

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 9 - A Wrinkle in Timelines**

Jackie stared wide-eyed, open-mouthed at the man who stood but one foot away. A lock of his sandy blonde hair, thick and wavy, fell loosely over his left eye. The man standing toe to toe with her was five years younger than he had been when Jackie was born, and approximately eight years younger than her earliest memory of him. The wrinkles around his mouth and eyes weren't quite as pronounced, and the hardness on his face that she remembered had not yet settled in. There was a carefree way about him than she had never remembered.

"Sorry luv, didn't mean ta spill yer drink. Lemme buy ya another, whaddya say?" he suggested, with a saucy wink.

Jackie's heart skipped a beat. Her father, George Arthur Prentice, had winked at her.

"No thanks, we were just leavin', weren't we Jack?" she called, voice shaky.

"Aww, don't run off luv. I just got here. I'm a good dancer...I bet you'd fancy a turn. Wot's yer name, luv?"

"Uh, it's Ginger," she answered without thinking. "Jack!" hollered Jackie, "Leaving now, with or without you!"

"Yer here with that poofter Yank?" George asked surprised, a single eyebrow raised.

Jackie looked down at his hand, growing angry. "And I suppose yer wife popped into the loo?" She remembered the year. "Or is she home with your _son_?" She again called to Jack. "Jack Harkness. Time to leave _now_!"

Jack opened his mouth to make a joke, but then saw that all color had drained from Jackie Tyler's face.

Jackie didn't wait for Jack to reply, and headed straight for the exit, stopping only to shakily set her empty glass on the bar before she walked out the door. Jack said goodbye to his new friends and followed Jackie into the cool night air.

"You alright?"

"No...that was my Dad in there!" Jackie answered in a panic, her voice high and screechy.

Jack didn't say a word. Instead, he pulled out a small black notebook and scribbled as quickly as he could. "What's his name? Quick! What's your father's name?" Jack shouted.

"George Arthur Prentice." Seeing the Doctor's scrawl and a few of "those geometry figure deals" on the facing page that she recognized to be his "alien language", she didn't question why, and simply answered Jack's questions.

"Gimme your full name, birthday, your current address - I mean the Powell one, and the address where you grew up. Quick!"

Jackie supplied the answers as he barked the orders.

"Did you touch him?"

"No...but...he...he touched me. He bumped into me and spilled my drink. He tried to convince me to dance with him. Jack, he _flirted_ with me," she said with revulsion.

"And are you feeling okay? Feeling weird at all? Like light-headed or do you feel like you're going to zuke?" Jack gripped the pencil between his teeth and shoved the notebook under his chin before he pried Jackie's eyes open to examine them.

"Stop messin' with my eyes!" she protested, pushing the man's hands away from her face.

"Zuke, you know - Get sick...barf...throw up?"

"No. I feel fine, well not fine, scared. I'm scared Jack. Did I muck things up?"

"I don't know. Let's...let's just get you back to your flat." Jack mentally kicked himself for his error in judgement. He had violated the most basic of rules taught to every newbie enrolled in time travel 101. The moment Jackie had told him this was her old neighborhood, he should have performed a one-eighty in his car, and hightailed it out of there.

"So what now?" Jackie asked as Jack pulled away from the kerb.

"I'm going to have to tell the Doctor about this. He needs to know."

Jackie nodded. "You can use my mobile. It's universal. Just press 'n hold number two."

"What's number one?" Jack asked.

"Jubilee Pizza. The delivery boys are always fit," she said with a nervous laugh.

Jack smirked as he pressed and held number two. "Bet the Doctor would love to know he is number two behind pizza delivery."

oOo

Rose and the Doctor nestled together under the covers. The Doctor closed his eyes, spread his hands over Rose's abdomen and followed his unborn son's timeline. "He's fine now. He's just fine..." He breathed the words into her ear.

Rose jumped when her mobile chirped. "It's Mum. Somethin's wrong. I can tell." Rose reached for the phone, but kept herself safe in the Doctor's firm embrace. "Hello? Mum?" Rose answered nervously.

"No, it's Jack. Your Mum is fine. Put Doc on. I need to talk to him."

Rose rolled out of his arms and handed the mobile to her husband. "It's Jack."

"Jack, something just happened, didn't it?" the Doctor asked in a rush of words.

"A near near miss. Jackie saw her father at the pub I took her to."

"What?" The Doctor sat up quickly and then sprang out of bed and madly paced the length of their bedroom.

If she hadn't known the situation was so serious, Rose would have been giggling at the sight of her naked, Time Lord husband pacing around the room, tugging at his hair.

"She was smart, Doc, she got out of there immediately, but...but not before her dad flirted with her."

The Doctor pulled a face. "He flirted with Jackie? That's...that's disgusting!"

Rose got up, joined the Doctor, guiding him to sit down at the end of their bed.

"Please tell me she didn't flirt back."

"Hell no! Like I said, she was smart, she got out of there quick-like."

The Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose. "Where are you now?"

"In an empty car park."

"Okay. Did you write it down in the notebook? Tell me you wrote it down," the Doctor begged.

"Yeah. I'll read you the entry." Jack cradled the phone with his shoulder, opened the little black notebook and read. "Jacqueline Suzette Tyler met her father, George Prentice at the pub."

He knew the name that Jack had just recited, Jackie's name, was wrong. "Rose, what's your mother's middle name?"

"Whattya mean?" she asked, confused.

"Just tell me!" he demanded, impatiently.

"Jacqueline Ginger Tyler. Dad botched her name at the wedding, remember?"

"Middle name is Ginger? You're sure about that, Rose?"

"Yeah, I'm sure!" she said vehemently. "I know my own mother's middle name, Doctor. That's why she chose the name Ginger for her fake name here in 1963."

The Doctor scrubbed his face. "Not good. This is very, very not good. Gotta go Jack." He tossed the mobile onto the bed and fell backwards onto the bed, hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

"What's wrong...please tell me it isn't serious," Rose whispered, and then switched to telepathy as she soothingly ran her fingers through his hair. _"Is he going to be okay? Can you see our son's timeline?"_

The Doctor showed her what their son's timeline felt like, though he could not show her the actual timeline itself, as only his Gallifreyan brain could process the actual data.

"Why does it look sort of hazy and dim?" Rose asked out loud.

"Because his timeline is no longer set. It is still there, and for the _moment_, he is fine," the Doctor answered without any pretense, his jaw set. He knew that Rose would see through any effort to soften the blow, and they had vowed to be only truthful with each another. "I gave Jack this special notebook to write things down as they happened, because I was worried that something like this would happen. Your mother's middle name is not Jacqueline Ginger, it's Jacqueline _Suzette_. Whatever he writes in the notebook is time-locked. If time is re-written, what Jack has written in the notebook will not change."

"But...that doesn't make any sense! Mum _always_ said her middle name came from her Gran's best friend who died in a car accident before she was born." She sucked in a breath. "Oh. No. That... does that mean?" Rose put her hand to mouth.

"Now hold on a minute," the Doctor rolled over onto his knees and held up a finger. "Before you jump to any conclusions, we don't even know that is even a true story. Her mother, your grandmother could have made that up. But what I don't understand is why our Time Tot _completely_ blinked out of existence for just a moment, and then came back, and why his timeline is now hazy."

The Doctor jumped off of the bed, fished a stethoscope deep out of one of his pockets, and hastily put the earpieces in place.

"Lie back and hold still." Rose jumped as he placed the cold bell on her belly listening for low-frequency soundwaves. He rotated the chestpiece and listened to sounds on a higher frequency. His forehead was crinkled, deep in thought, as he slipped the device out of his ears and let it hang around his neck.

"What? What's happening?" Rose asked, impatient and nervous.

"He's fine. Everything's perfect. Usually when there is a hiccup in a timeline like this, there's a residual echo of the event. This time, nothing. It's like it never even happened. The haziness is gone, too. His timeline is strong again." The Doctor paused and crinkled his nose. "It's like it just repaired itself."

"Alright..." Rose said, stretching out the word.

"It's weird," he mused.

"Bad weird or good weird?" Rose asked with nervous laugh.

"Just weird." He turned to his wife and pulled her into a comforting hug.

"It isn't over yet, is it?" she asked.

"No, love, I don't think it is."

Rose yawned. "Stay with me? At least until I fall asleep, Doctor?"

"Sure, love. If you wake up and need me, you know I'm just a thought away. I'll be in the TARDIS, alright?"

Rose kissed him softly, and together they fully relaxed under the covers.

The Doctor pulled Rose's back into his chest, and she held his hands close to her heart. They stayed like this, spooned together, until he knew she was fast asleep. Only then did he slip out of bed and into the TARDIS.

oOo

Rose awoke the next morning to the smell of scrambled eggs and frying sausages. The unpleasantly pungent aroma of spices and fat washed over her like a wave and she felt her stomach clench.

"Gonna be sick," she blurted as she dashed into the en suite and promptly lost the fish and salad from last night's supper that had not yet digested.

"Doctor..." she weakly warbled from her kneeling position in front of the toilet. "I feel...awful..." Rose curled up into a ball and rested her cheek on the cool black and white tile of the floor.

The Doctor strode in and winced at the evidence of what had just happened.

"That tea. Get me that tea. The stuff from Shan Shen... It's in the kitchen on the TARDIS, in the tea cupboard," she mumbled into the floor.

The Doctor quickly made his way to their blue box and returned with the jar of precious herbs and spices in hand. He boiled water and prepared a cup for his Rose, and brought it to her.

"This is...bad. Never felt so sick in my life. How long this gonna go on?" She mumbled the question.

"I don't know. Sorry," he apologized. "Can I draw you a bath?"

Rose nodded limply and lumbered into the large bathtub. She leaned forward, clutching her head as the water level quickly rose. "Would Jane have been this sick?" Rose asked quietly.

The Doctor thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Don't think so. Human DNA."

"Gonna get sick again!" Rose started to wretch and then jumped out of the tub, sloshing water all over her husband and the tile floor.

The Doctor knelt beside her and rubbed her bare back as again, she was ill.

"I'm so sorry about this, love." He tried to mentally soothe the extreme discomfort, but strong, telepathic walls were immediately erected, though not by Rose, shutting him out. He tried again, and was once again thwarted by his son's fledgling mental prowess.

"Our son is being petulant. Teenage rebellion, and he's only a week old," he joked, but it fell flat.

Rose lifted her head and moved to sit, leading her back against the bathtub. "More tea. Please..."

The Doctor handed her the still hot cup of Madame Ling's special blend, and she took a sip. She grimaced at the taste, and then took a second sip, and a third. Soon the cup was empty, and Rose's face had relaxed.

"Did it help?" the Doctor asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, it's helpin'." Rose nodded and slipped back into the hot bath.

The Doctor went under the cabinet, and smiled as he found a big bottle. "Good old Mr. Bubble. Just what you need to put your beautiful smile back on your beautiful face. John used to take bubble baths when he couldn't sleep."

Rose smiled, and closed her eyes. The Doctor added more water, and poured a generous amount of soap under the rush of water. Soon lightly scented bubbles were billowing in the tub. Rose grabbed a handful and fashioned a mountain. The Doctor took a handful, soniced them, and they were transformed into the shape of a rubber ducky.

Rose smiled at the creation. "I'm feeling better already...that tea is a lifesaver."

"Good..." The Doctor kissed her nose, and then took a scoopful of bubbles and plopped it onto her head.

Rose sat up, alerted by the acrid smell of smoke. "Doctor, do you smell somethin' burning?"

"Breakfast!" he sprinted out of the bathroom and Rose heard a string of words which the TARDIS didn't translate, but she knew to be unsavory, and would be unfit for their son's ears, if they had been formed yet.

"Get dressed, we're going out for breakfast. How do waffles sound?" he called from the kitchen as he binned the charred remains.

oOo

After breakfast, the Doctor and Rose walked home from a neighborhood cafe.

"I should be home around three, Doctor. Need anything from Henrik's?" Rose asked.

"Naw...I'm good, thanks. Oh wait! There is something. Could you pick me up a pair of silver and onxy cufflinks?"

"Cufflinks? Sure," she replied, a bit confused as to why he would need cufflinks, which he had never before worn. "New shirt I don't know about?"

"Nope. I'm going to rebuild the electromagnetic chrono deflector and need some new buttons, and who wants boring buttons," he grinned.

Rose smiled hopefully. "You think it could make a difference? Rebuilding that chrono whatsit?"

"I hope so. I'm running out of ideas, love." He shoved his hands in his pockets, crestfallen.

Rose kissed him on the lips, and hugged him. "I could stay and keep you company," she offered.

"Naw...take Jackie with you. Keeping an eye on her is a bigger job than what I'm gonna be working on."

She cupped his cheek and kissed him once again. "I love you. You'll figure it out. I know you will. And if you don't, I'll still love you, you know that, don't you?"

"Never doubted it for a minute, Rose Tyler."

The Doctor went into his ship to continue his work, and Rose took a taxi to her mother's flat, and together they spent the rest of their Saturday morning shopping at Henrik's. She spent most of her time trying to convince her mother to pick clothing that wouldn't be too conspicuous, which was difficult, considering that Jackie's tastes gravitated towards anything with sequins or rhinestones and hugged her curves.

"But Ro-Jane, look at these toreador pants! I look smashing! If only Howard could see me now!" Jackie stated, pleased with herself, as she skimmed her hands over her hips, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

"_Ginger_, John and I travel in rather...conservative circles. Now I'm not sayin' you can't wear anything flash, but...pick some things that don't stand out quite so much. You live in Chelsea now, remember? Not the Estate."

"Young lady, don't you put on airs and graces with me!"

"I'm not Mum," Rose hissed quietly through her teeth. "We have to be very, very careful, that's all I'm sayin'. Your little escapade last night? You know what happened?" Rose grew angry. "Our baby...for a millisecond, he blinked out of existence! Because you met Granddad! This baby...he almost didn't happen!"

"What?" Jackie asked quietly, immediately sobered.

"Yeah... He warned you, Mum, and look what happened!" Rose was nearly in tears. She dropped down onto the round stool in the dressing room.

"I...I didn't know."

"And you know what else? Your middle name...it ain't supposed to be Ginger...it's supposed to be _Suzette_."

"What're you goin' on about?" Jackie guffawed.

"Yeah, _Mum_! Somehow in only a day, you have already managed to blink out my baby, and get your name changed!"

Jackie grabbed the items from the hanger on the wall and marched out of the dressing room. She hefted her choices onto the counter.

"May I help you, ma'am?" asked the clerk behind the counter, as she haughtily apprised Jackie.

"Ring these clothes up," Jackie answered, her voice clipped. "And I'll be wearin' these here skinny trousers outta the store."

"Interesting choices. Perhaps you could benefit from the help of a fashion-"

"Now, see here you-" Jackie pointed her finger in the woman's scowling face.

Rose interrupted her mother before the inevitable confrontation could begin.

"Charge these to Mr. John Smith's account, please," Rose said quietly, in her best approximation of Jane's voice.

"I'll need to see some identification, miss," the woman behind the counter stated tersely.

"Of course," Rose replied, calm. "Why don't you call my husband. His phone number is on file." Rose stood resolute.

Jackie dropped onto a blue velvet, tufted bench and stewed while she waited. "She never complained about the way I dressed before," she thought to herself angrily. "An' that woman? She's a right bint!"

The woman contacted the credit office and was connected to the telephone in their flat.

The Doctor looked at the caller ID which he had installed and disguised to look like an address book. "Henrik's?" he muttered the question before answering. "Hello! Smith residence, John Smith speaking!"

"Mr. Smith, this is Miss Brown from the Finer Ladies Apparel department at Henrik's. To women are here claiming that they have permission to charge a sizable purchase to your account. It seems awfully suspicious to me so I knew I had better call you, given your particular celebrity and social standing."

"Oh! That must be my Jane! Is she there? Put her in the phone!" he gushed for the woman's benefit.

"Your name miss?" Miss Brown asked Rose.

"Mrs. Jane Smith," Rose replied proudly.

"Oh. Well. Yes of course. Your husband wishes it speak with you Mrs. Smith. So sorry I...well then...here you go," she sing-songed to cover her embarrassment.

Rose took the phone, trying hard not to laugh. "Hello _darling_," she greeted him broadly.

"Snooty old hag, isn't she?" asked the Doctor.

"Oh yes! Exactly like you said! Perfect!" Rose replied, making sure Miss Brown heard her end of the conversation. "Ginger found some lovely things to replace what she lost in that tragic fire last week."

"Jackie doin' alright?"

"We are getting along _famously_, but I have to run. Can't miss my fitting appointment for Bess's wedding. Love you snookie cookie." She kissed into the receiver and then handed the phone back. "He wants to speak with you, Miss Brown."

"So what seems to be the trouble here?" the Doctor asked smoothly in John Smith's Scottish brogue.

"No trouble at all, sir. I'll make sure your wife and friend are well taken care of. Goodbye now." The now contrite woman silently finished the transaction and wrapped the parcels properly.

"Oh, look at the time. We only have half an hour to meet Bess at the dressmaker's shop."

The two women left the store, hailed a taxi and made their appointment at Salon Madame Dubois with three minutes to spare.

oOo

The Doctor dragged himself back into the TARDIS after the phone call from Henrik's. The so-called emergency which had prompted the call from the shop clerk was irrelevant to the problem which he was facing. He had spent all morning in his ailing ship. The data was checked, re-checked and re-checked a third time, but the readings did not lie. Bottom line: he did not want to believe what his TARDIS was telling him.

"I am so sorry, Old Girl. Why didn't you just tell me what was really wrong in the first place?" He hauled himself from under the console and studied the monitor one last time, hoping that he had somehow gotten it wrong. There was no mistake. His ship was shutting down totally and completely. The last of the essential rooms which had been kept online were now inaccessible: medical bay, kitchen, the master bedroom and Jackie's room were darkened. The TARDIS gave him a warning. The console room itself would be inactive in one minute, fourteen seconds.

The dim lighting in the corridor which led to the living quarters extinguished, plunging the hallway into pitch black. The last hint of green glow of the time rotor faded to nothing. The gentle hum dimmed down to a dull rumble, barely perceivable. The console room was plunged into darkness, save the pulsing green glow emanating from the orbital temporal mobilizer/demobilizer. The green glass orb was the only evidence that the Doctor's beloved ship was indeed, still alive. He ran his finger over the green Dendrobian crystal ball one more time.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do more to help. You need _time_." The Doctor laid his hand on a coral strut for a moment, sighed, and slowly walked down the ramp. He closed the door behind him, and locked it, knowing he would not be able to return until his TARDIS gave him the all-clear. The consciousness of his constant friend for nearly a millennia faded into the back of his mind, still present, but barely perceivable.

Now he had to figure out how he was he going to tell Rose and Jackie that they were not stuck for six months. The TARDIS was going to be immobilized for a full Earth year.

* * *

And to quote Liz Lemon, "That there, that's a game changer."


	11. Blockity Blocked Blocked

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 10 - Blockity Blocked Blocked**

The relationship between Rose and Jackie after they left Henrik's was positively chilly. Rose perceived Jackie to be unrepentant for her indiscretion at the pub on Friday night, when in reality, it was the opposite. Jackie was trying hard to keep up a good front. She was terrified of what could have been, what may still be to come, if there were to be any more missteps.

The fitting at the elegant bridal salon was swift and without incident. The seamstress who would be doing the alterations on both Bess and Rose's gowns barely uttered a word as she went about her work of measuring, chalking, pinning and adjusting.

"I'm going to need a bit of wiggle room in the bodice, I think," said Rose, looking at her still flat stomach. "I'm expecting, and you never know when the little fellow is going to decide to have a growth spurt."

"Certainly ma'am," the seamstress replied discreetly.

"You'll be fine, darling. It's a whole two weeks away," Bess said to Rose as she preened in the mirror, swishing this way and that in her Grace Kelly-inspired wedding gown.

"Well, you know how the Doc—John is, he is so unpredictable. For all I know, he has something in his biology that makes babies grow triple quick," Rose said with a grin.

The seamstress subtly raised an eyebrow at the discussion going on between the customers. Her patrons were rarely so free with their words.

"Bess, you look absolutely lovely," Rose said genuinely once she was free to turn fully and look at Bess, who didn't want to remove her gown quite yet.

"So do you darling. That Tiffany blue suits you perfectly."

Jackie sat stewing, watching the two friends. She felt like she wasn't even there in the same room. She had been effectively ignored for the past hour by her daughter. Bess had been kind enough, but she thought that Rose was acting like a petulant sixteen year old.

The women changed back into their shopping kit, and retrieved their parcels.

"Would the two of you like to take tea?" asked Bess. "There's a divine little cafe down the block a ways. They have scrummy pastries…"

"I'm feeling rather tired, Bess. I think I'm going to head home," declined Rose.

"I'm going to do a bit more shopping," said Bess. "Jackie, want to tag along? There are some lovely little boutiques in this neighborhood. I could drive you home."

"I think I'm going to head home, too. I'm shopped out."

Rose was surprised. Shopping was her mother's favorite pastime, and with a nearly unlimited amount of cash in her handbag, Rose thought she'd jump at the chance.

"Rose, would you like to share a taxi home?"

"Ah, sure Mum. See you later, Bess."

Mother and daughter continued their non-communication. The taxi dropped Jackie first, and then took Rose home. She paid the cabbie and with less joy than usual, climbed up the stairs to her temporary home. The Doctor's mood had declined markedly in the past half an hour.

Rose hastily opened the door to their flat, and dropped the parcels from her Saturday shopping trip inelegantly onto the slate tile floor just inside of the door. _"I came home as soon as I could drop Mum off. Where are you? What's wrong? You're mind is so cloudy…what's goin' on?" _

Every drapery was drawn and not a single lamp was lit. The room was cold and dull, a bit depressing even.

"I'm on the sofa," the Doctor answered flatly from within the darkness.

On quiet feet, Rose approached him, and found him stretched out on his back, his hands behind his head. His brown suit coat was draped over a seat back, and his sleeves were rolled up. His dirty trainers were on the floor, and his feet were bare, stockings cast aside. The evidence of working on the TARDIS — familiar black grease smudges — were on his hairy forearms and one cheek.

She made a move to sit by him on the sofa, but he didn't change his position to accommodate her. He continued to stare at the ceiling, unblinking, even as Rose came into his field of vision. She pulled the leather ottoman close to the sofa, sat down gingerly, and fingered a stray lock of his messy hair away from his left eye.

"Doctor? Why are you hiding a part of your mind from me?" she asked, hurt evident in her voice.

He sighed and sat up. He reached his hand out, and pulled her onto the sofa, and into his chest. Reflexively, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her check between his twin hearts. Rose swallowed hard, as he drew back the mental curtain. She shuddered as she felt emptiness, loss and a loneliness she had never before felt in his mind.

"Doctor?" she prompted gently. "You're hurting…I don't understand. What's happened?"

Again, he sighed, and then dropped his head back against the black leather cushion of the sofa. "The TARDIS…she's had to shut herself down. She told me to leave — kicked me out on my proverbial backside. I can only hear the faintest bit of her song. She's hurt, Rose. Hurt badly, and we are more stuckerer. Stuckity stuck stuck sticky stick stuck-uh." He turned to look at Rose.

"Oh, alright. Well…how much longer?" she asked hesitantly, but trying to keep an upbeat sound to her voice. "I mean, six months wasn't so bad, not really. It's not like we're going to be stuck here forever…yeah?"

"Naw…not forever." His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. "A year," he said with a falsely blithe wave of his hand.

"A year?" she asked nervously. "Well. Alright, ah, that's…that's not too bad. I mean…I…or we…we can handle it, yeah? She's still right out there on the rooftop garden, right? We can still pop in there and use the med bay for my antenatal exams, and if we need something—"

"No, Rose, you're not understanding. She literally locked me out. She shut herself down. She blocked our link, except for the most basic, rudimentary contact. The only thing I can tell right now is that she is still alive. _That's it! _Alive. No translation, no…singing, no…all of that other stuff that she has done for almost a thousand years, and has kept me sane since the war. And I _won't_ be able to use the med bay to examine you, and I _won't_ be able to use all of those medically advanced tools to aid in the delivery of our son." All tone of false lightness was now gone, and he was deadly serious.

"Oh. Uh…what…what are we going to do? I mean…not that I think there are gonna be any problems, but what if…what if there's a complication or somethin'? I can't just pop into A&E and tell 'em I'm carryin' an alien baby." She tried hard to not sound like she was panicking, but she couldn't hide her racing thoughts from her husband.

The Doctor brusquely pulled Rose into a crushing hug. "Don't worry, love. I've delivered plenty of babies before. Not a lot of bipedal offspring, granted. I did, however, deliver Julius Caesar, so I know how to do a c-section."

"Hold on, you delivered Caesar? As in caesarean section?" Rose asked, dubious.

"How else do you think his mother survived that surgery? Fixed point. He had to live. His mother was struggling. Lovely woman, Aurelia, but did she have a set of lungs on her! Anyway, I stepped in, unzipped her, pulled out the screaming Roman, zipped her back up, bim-bam-boom. Of course, there were plenty of babies delivered in that manner prior to old Julius, but—"

"Doctor…" Rose huffed. "Could we ask Jack if he knows a trustworthy physician at Torchwood?"

"That's not a bad idea. Come to think of it, that's a very good idea, Rose. How do you always come up with such good ideas?" He smiled at his wife, and kissed her forehead. "Seems to me that there must have been some physicians at Royal Hope who were in cahoots…I love that word…with Torchwood, given Niles' coma."

Rose nodded. "So, what do we tell Mum then?" She nervously picked her fingernails.

The Doctor lifted a single eyebrow, and then relaxed his face. "We'll have to tell her. Eventually…" He smiled wryly and then pulled her into a hug. The Doctor chuckled into her neck, and released a long-held breath. "I don't know what I would do right now if you weren't my wife…if you weren't my bond mate, if you weren't there in my mind. It would be…" He paused and swallowed hard. "It would be _hard_."

"You have me, Doctor. You have me." Rose repeated this phrase over and over, mentally pulling her bond-mate deep within their union, filling his mind with the song of their bond.

oOo

Sunday was spent quietly as the Doctor was exhausted from the mental strain of the absence of his oldest companion. He explained to Rose that the revocation of the sound of his TARDIS from his mind had been more of a physical blow than he had ever would have guessed. They spent much of the day in bed, simply holding each other. They made love repeatedly, quietly, gently, and each time they united physically, every time Rose sang the Doctor's true name, he was a little more at peace, felt a bit stronger, and mentally more sharp.

He spent a rare entire night in deep slumber, but when Monday morning arrived, even with the uninterrupted sleep, he still awoke with dark circles under his eyes. Rose could feel his mental fatigue. She rolled onto her side, and ran her hand down his arm, onto his slim hip and around to his buttocks, making her intentions clear. He looked at her with needy eyes and without a single word, or even a stray telepathic thought, he pinned her to their mattress. Soon he was devouring her mouth, ravishing her body, taking her with a roughness that he had not exhibited before. He nipped at her shoulder leaving a mark, but quickly soothed it with gentle kisses. The only coherent word he uttered came at the pinnacle of his passion.

"Mine!"

Rose never had a reason to doubt that she was his, always and forever, but not since their first union, the night of their marriage, the moment of the creation of their unbreakable bond, had he ever been so possessive, so aggressive.

"Yours, only yours!" she cried out, confirming his claim on her.

"Hello," he finally spoke as he rolled onto his back, spent and sated.

"Hello." Rose answered as was their habit. "Feeling better?" she asked hopefully.

"Much."

The ride to work in their blue Aston Martin was cheerful and filled with hopeful conversation, and they walked into work, swinging their clasped hands. Billy the Lift Operator greeted them with a breezy 'g'mornin'' and was proud to announce that he had written a whole chapter of his new adventure novel, _The Buccaneer's Booty_.

"Write what you know, Billy," the Doctor said as he swept out of the lift, his long brown coat fluttering in the wake of his quick pace.

oOo

The sunlight was streaming into the plush office. The Doctor was pacing. Rose was typing. A hand-scrawled sign which stated, "Do Not Disturb Or Else" had been tacked the outside of the door.

"Okay, one more time. From the top," the Doctor said melodramatically.

A pile of crumpled, discarded miss-starts to chapter three filled the rubbish bin to Rose's left. Rose readied her fingers over the keys and waited for the verbal onslaught.

"She plastered a smile on her face and even attempted a few jokes. All of this was an illusion as inside, Iris Mason was in turmoil. Soul-searing, excruciating, stomach gutting embarrassment had overtaken her the minute she had awakened. Her refuge from the Professor's smile, his exuberance and his mile-a-minute mouth, was a hot shower." The Doctor ambled back and forth through his office, hands behind his back, as he pulled the words from his memory, the story of their trip to Barcelona. "The heat—"

Rose did her best to keep up, but her fingers were not as nimble on a typewriter as Jane's had been. "Hold up, I'm still back at that embarrassment part…"

The Doctor sighed in exasperation until he heard the clacking of the typewriter halt, and saw Rose give a non-verbal cue for him to continue.

"The heat of the water pounded almost painfully on Iris's back. Steam swirled and fog filled the tile-walled stall, filling her addled and pain-filled mind, further clogging her thoughts.

"He had brought her breakfast in bed. He'd said something about her having an aphrodisiac hangover and forced her to eat those revolting sausages. She was rather surprised when he didn't pull a banana — Wait, does the Professor like bananas?" The Doctor interrupted himself mid-thought.

"I don't know…um…does he?" Rose took her hands off of her keyboard and tried to remember.

The Doctor picked up one of John's novels and flipped through it, speed reading, as he had done so long ago that first time he entered Rose's flat at the Powell Estate, when he was still wearing black leather. "He likes apricots. Huh. Apricots? Really? Why… why apricots? Why in the world would I have chosen apricots, and not bananas?" He shuddered and grimaced. "Not quite as bad as pears but…" he drawled. "Apricots are a very dodgy fruit, Rose Tyler, never forget that. You never know if you've gotten a good one or a bad one."

Rose smiled. "I'll remember that."

"Apricots…apricots…apricots…Where were we?" he asked.

"Umm…I'm in the — I mean _Iris_ is in the shower, remembering the night before, completely mortified." Rose gasped, and her eyes grew large. "Doctor, do you think Mum is going to read this book? Do you really want her knowing about…us and…the, you know, cream cake? The whole stripping down thing?" Rose asked, suddenly mindful of the fact that _Blame it on Barcelona_ was, in truth, an autobiographical account of the events which had led to their marriage.

The Doctor furrowed his brow and looked at her. "I never thought of that. Oooh, that's very not good." He shook his head vehemently. "We have to come up with something different Rose. There is absolutely, positively no way we are publishing this. We have to come up with a new story. That's all there is to it."

"Completely new story? From scratch?" she asked, worried.

"Yep. Totally new. I'm not going to parade our private life in front of your mother. Or Jack. Or Niles and Bess for that matter. Or our son. He'll want to read it one day, too. Do you want him reading about his mother doing a striptease for his father?"

"Alrighty then," she agreed immediately. She pulled the paper out of the typewriter, wadding it into a ball and tossing into the bin, just one more false start added to the pile. "Where do we start?"

"I have absolutely no idea." The Doctor shoved his hands into his pockets and fell onto the sofa.

oOo

"Story. Story. Story. Story. Stooooooorrrrrreeeeeey…" The Doctor smacked his lips, making a popping sound repeatedly until Rose glared at him, annoyed by the noise.

"Would you _please_ stop making that awful sound?" Rose clasped her head in her hands and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Well, it's helping me…" he replied rudely, and continued to produce the loud popping noise.

"And it's givin' me a headache." Rose continued to hold her heavy, throbbing head.

"That's not possible. My thinkity-think-thunking sound could, in no way, be responsible for your headache. Now, in all likelihood, it could be _irritating_ you, thereby contributing to an already-established headache. But cause it, no." He looked at Rose, matter of fact.

Rose ignored him, and instead, rifled through her handbag for a pregnancy-approved painkiller. She popped the lid off of the small green pill bottle that the Doctor had given her, and shook two small yellow tablets into the palm of her hand. She looked up and realized that the Doctor was now standing right next to her. Gone was the lecturing look of a moment before. Now, he had sympathy in his eyes. He pulled her to her feet and slowly led her to the orange sofa.

"I'm sorry, love. I was unkind," he admitted quietly.

Rose sighed and shook her head. "I told you I had a headache. Couldn't you tell that I'm not feeling well? Couldn't you tell?" she pleaded.

"I was too wrapped up in my frustration to pay attention." He prompted for her to turn her back to him. Her neck was exposed, as her hair was up in a French twist, and he kneaded the tense muscles in her shoulders and neck. Rose's head fell forward heavily as she relaxed into his therapeutic touch.

"How come this stuff just came to us so easily when we were John and Jane?" Rose asked quietly, eyes closed.

"That…I don't know." He blew a puff of air through his lips.

"I can't type anymore…I just can't keep up with you, Doctor! I dunno how Jane did it. I can remember the feeling of her fingers flyin' across those keys…it was like John's words were just in her head and…her fingers did _exactly_ what she wanted them to. Second nature." She groaned with a touch of melodrama. "I don't think I'm cut out for this."

"Let's take a break. Lunch?" the Doctor asked.

"'M'not hungry. I think I'm gonna lie down for a bit. Do you mind turnin' out the lights when ya leave?"

"I don't really need to eat, Rose, but I thought maybe you were hungry. I'll stay here with you." He grasped a cushion and placed it in his lap, and mentally prompted Rose to rest her head and stretch out her legs.

With a few quick whirrs of the sonic screwdriver, the lights were extinguished, and the radio was tuned to a station which happened to be playing a quiet arabesque by Claude Debussy, broadcast from Norway. Rose sighed as the Doctor rubbed her temples, and eased her into a headache-alleviating state of rest.

They stayed like this, quiet and peaceful, for nearly an hour, when they were interrupted by a knock on the door. Rose sat up and shook off the nap-induced cobwebs. The Doctor re-illuminated the office as Rose answered the door.

"Hello darling," Bess said cheerfully. "Are you alright?" she asked, concerned by the pained look on Rose's face.

"I had a headache, but I feel a bit better now. I've been resting on the sofa."

"Hi Bess," the Doctor called from across the room. "We have a problem," he said, getting to the heart of the matter.

"A problem? What sort of a problem?" Bess asked nervously. "A…_Doctory, alienish_ type problem or a simple problem?"

"A very domestic, John and Jane problem." The Doctor stood up and nervously tugged his ear.

"We don't want to publish the story," Rose stated bluntly, shrugging her shoulders, and closing the door behind Bess.

"What do you mean? You don't want the book published?" Bess asked, confused.

"The thing is…" The Doctor stumbled over his words. "You see…what John was writing about…the adventure on Barcelona-"

"It really happened Bess," Rose interrupted. "That's how the Doctor and me…the aphrodisiac…and the…uh…other stuff… Well, I suppose that's how we ended up finally admitting to ourselves how much we loved each other, and… it happened right before we got married, and we really don't feel like we want to tell the world, um…" Rose blushed furiously.

"We don't want everyone to know about our _real_ wedding," the Doctor completed the thought.

"Definitely not Mum. Or Jack. Or Niles," Rose added.

"Or our children…er…son…" The Doctor winced, quickly correcting himself after Rose cast a surprised look his way.

"Children?" asked Rose.

"_We'll talk about that later…"_ the Doctor told her telepathically.

Bess pinched her lips, desperately trying not to laugh. "You're talking about the naked wedding, aren't you?"

"Yeah," Rose said with a sigh.

"You know about the naked wedd—I mean Gallifreyan wedding? She knows, Rose?" he whinged.

Both Rose and Bess ignored his embarrassed protest. "So are you telling me, that all of those sexy, hot, juicy bits that John wrote about the Professor and Iris — the cream cake? And…and the curry aphrodisiac? The strip tease? Those things happened to the two of _you_?" Bess asked with enthusiasm.

Rose's mouth gaped open, but no words came out, so she closed it again.

"You naughty, naughty girl," Bess said to Rose with a teasing gleam in her eye.

"Bess…" Rose growled the word, both embarrassed and angry.

"Oh piffle," Bess said, chastising her friend. "Why should you care, darling? Really? Who is going to know? The book is written by a science fiction author from 1963 by the name of John Smith. You won't even be an adult until the late twentieth century!"

"But our pictures are on the back of that loose paper thingy that covers the book!" Rose squealed.

"And who's going to believe those two people are you and the Doctor?" Bess asked with a blithe flap of her wrist. "If you _do_ have friends who ended up reading it, you know, in the future, how in the world are they going to come to the conclusion that you and him are John and Jane, or that John and Jane are the Professor and Iris?"

"Well…" Rose conceded a bit.

"Rose…" the Doctor drew out her name seriously. "I really don't want _Jackie_ reading this," the Doctor reminded her, bringing her back to reality. "And Pete! Your father had this book in his library."

"Oh fudge," Rose said, using the mild expletive that was Jane's trademark.

"Haven't heard that since you were Jane. You must be really upset," Bess said, one eyebrow raised.

Rose ignored Bess. "Doctor, what if my dad already read it?" She asked in a panic. "He read the book and he…oh, I think I'm going to be sick." Rose clutched her stomach and looked green.

"Breathe, Rose, just breathe," Bess encouraged kindly. "There is no way your father could ever know that was his future daughter and her alien husband, darling. Do you really think that would have ever crossed his mind?"

"But it's my dad!" Rose repeated with a squeak, hiding her mouth behind her clenched fists.

The Doctor tipped his head to the side. "Come to think of it, I don't think he ever did read it, love. I did examine that book rather carefully for a generous fifteen point four seconds. The spine was intact, and the cover showed absolutely no sign of wear," the Doctor said, encouraging her further. "Remember what Jackie said, hmm? He bought the books as an investment, now didn't he? Your father would never have dreamed of reading them. He wouldn't have wanted to risk damaging his perceived goldmine."

Rose's worry about her father faded, and she nodded. "Alright, so Dad didn't read it. Hopefully. But what about Mum?"

"Do you really think that _your mother_ is going to read a book that doesn't have a bare-chested Casanova on the cover?" the Doctor said, incredulously with a half smile.

"Doctor, that was rude." Rose crossed her arms.

"As long as she doesn't know it is autobiographical, I _really_ don't think she'll want to read it," the Doctor said with a smirk.

"Why the change of heart, Doctor? An hour ago, you were…completely mental about the fact that the chance existed that my mum or our friends would crack the book. So what's changed?" Rose asked, curious.

"Well…" he drawled, "While we've been talking about this literary conundrum, I've been coming up with plot ideas, and frankly, I have come up with some brilliant ones, too because I'm a genius…but every time I begin to plot them out, the timelines go fuzzy again."

"So now you're tellin' me that we _have_ to write it the way it happened…exactly." Rose was far from pleased with this new revelation.

"Yep," he replied in resignation.

"But…but…but…you said you were blocked!" Rose threw her hands up in frustration and gaped at her husband. "And…and…and…" Rose was reaching for any reason to not continue writing _Blame it on Barcelona_.

"I'm not blocked on the plot, I'm artistically blocked, Rose. Big difference. Oh, I could give you a perfectly crafted recollection of our time on Barcelona, but it would be dry, boring. No one would buy it. The book was a success. It has to be a _good read_. John was much more creative that I."

"If I might make a suggestion, _John_ and _Jane_," Bess said with a small smile, "why don't you work on finalizing what you have already written? Perhaps reading what you wrote _before_," she raised her eyebrows, paused and emphasized the word, "will get you in the mood to write the next chapter."

"Couldn't hurt, I suppose," the Doctor replied, frustrated that he wasn't in control of this situation.

"That's just fine," Bess said with a smile. "I'll leave the two of you to it then."

Rose stood by, her arms folded protectively across her stomach. "Jack is never going to look at us the same way again."

"Of all the people, Jack is the one I'm least worried about. Do you really think he hasn't already come up with about a billion scenarios for the two of us, Rose Tyler?" the Doctor said wickedly.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Rose shook off the thought. "Jack _is_ going to be Jack…"

Bess laughed and nodded sagely. "Jack is definitely single-minded." She started to leave, but then turned around. "Oh, Jane dear, the alterations to your maid of honor dress are complete. It will be delivered later today."

"Well, at least that's a piece of good news," Rose said with a small smile. "Have you ordered your flowers?"

The Doctor tuned out and went to look out the window as the ladies discussed Bess and Niles' wedding preparations.

"Blue Hydrangeas. They'll be hothouse of course, as they aren't quite yet in season in May, but they _are_ my favorite. Oh! Niles and I have a proposal for you, but free to decline. We know you wanted to give _John and Jane_," she said, whispering their names, "a proper reception. Niles and I were wondering if you wanted to have a joint reception? We were thinking the Tiki Tiki Club. Seems only appropriate, don't you think?" Bess asked hopefully.

The Doctor heard the words_ Tiki Tiki Club_, and Bess had immediately re-captured his attention.

"Oh now, that's brilliant!" he growled. "Tiki Tiki Club, Rose! The Watusi! Mai Tais! Polynesian and Asian little nibbles! What do you think?" asked the Doctor, with a bright smile. He was always one for a good party, and a double wedding reception certainly would count as that, let alone a double wedding reception at the Tiki Tiki Club. "Remember what Robert said? He'd book the talent!"

"Okay," she said quietly. "Yeah," louder this time as she broke out into a full smile. "That would be a lot of fun! And why have two receptions? We've already had our spur of the moment reception up in Scotland, so…yeah! I think that'd be brilliant!" Rose nodded, and grabbed the Doctor's hand and looked at him fondly.

"Smashing!" Bess purred with excitement. "Now you two get back to work, time is a-ticking," she said with mock authority, as she tapped at her wristwatch before cracking a mischievous smile. "Oh one more thing _Jane_," she winked at Rose, "_Ginger_ wasn't feeling very well this morning. You may want to check in on her, darling. I think she's feeling rather…blue."

Rose looked at the Doctor and frowned sadly. "Thanks for letting me know, Bess."

With that, Bess, left the office, dutifully closing the door.

"I'm not ready talk to her," said Rose, cooly, crossing her arms and shaking her head.

"I know you're angry about what your mother did, love, but in all fairness, she did exactly what she should have done in that situation. She left," the Doctor said in a slightly lecturing tone.

"She hasn't even apologized," Rose replied stubbornly.

"Give her time. Rassilon knows, we have plenty of that now," the Doctor said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, allons-y, let's get to work."

Rose and the Doctor sat on the sofa and re-read the two chapters that had been written and gone through first editing to refresh their memories, and to attempt to put themselves in the mood to continue on with chapter three.

Tuesday was spent finalizing chapters one and two, which were sent to Bess for final editing. At four forty-five, Bess nearly ran down the hall with the copy in hand.

"I want to have a chat with _Jane_ for a minute about girl stuff. Scoot John!" Bess ordered with a sly smile.

The Doctor stood outside, hearing every single giggle and titter as Bess skillfully pulled the details from Rose.

"The writing is honestly banal and not up to snuff, but I have to know. What lingerie you _really_ wearing on the night that Iris tried to seduce the Professor?" Bess asked, wanting all of the juicy details.

"Bess! Come on! That's private…"

"Jane would've told me…" Bess said with a pout.

Rose stared at her and then relented. "A lavender bra and a pair of boring old cotton knickers that didn't match, and I was mortified that they didn't match, alright? Satisifed? You sure you should be marrying Niles? You wantin' ta know about _my_ knickers?" Rose said, hands on her hips.

"Oh absolutely, my dear Jane. I was thinking about re-enacting this terribly sexy scene with Niles sometime, and I want it to be perfectly accurate. Seems to me that the Professor didn't have a problem that your knickers didn't match your brassiere."

Rose stuck her fingers in ears. "La la la la la la la la la! Don't want to know about you and Niles!"

"Oh stop being such a prude! I think Jane Smith was more open about these things than Modern Miss Rose Tyler," Bess challenged.

"I am _not_ a prude, Bess," Rose said, removing her fingers. "Maybe you should liquor me up. Got any champagne handy?" Rose started giggling madly.

Outside the door, the Doctor frowned as he listened in on their conversation. Bess gasped from time to time as Rose went on to give the full details of the encounter in Miss Minchin's home.

The best friends emerged from the office half an hour later, and found the Doctor slumped in an olive green side chair, legs stretched out, glaring at the opposite wall. Rose and Bess looked at each other, and tittered some more. Bess smiled at the Doctor, and ran her eyes up and down his physique. He straightened up and crinkled his face. "What? Why you lookin' at me that way?"

"Oh, John Smith," Bess said with a devilish grin and a gravelly timbre in her voice, "Iris Mason is a very, very, _very_ lucky girl." With that Bess walked away with a swing in her step, prickles running up her spine, and in search of a fiancé to snog as soon as possible.

On Wednesday, the Doctor and Rose attempted to write chapter three. They wrote it as accurately as they could without offering any explicit details. The words were dull, dry and lifeless. Rose had difficulty keeping up with the Doctor, even though he was dictating at half tempo.

"This is rubbish, you do know that don't you?" Rose said bluntly. "Wanna hear it?"

"No, not really," the Doctor replied, tetchy.

Rose dictated the last paragraph. _"Iris cried and cried and cried in the shower. She was embarrassed. The water felt good on her back, but not good enough. She needed to know the truth. Did the Professor want her or didn't he? Had she really taken off her clothes? Had she really tried to kiss him?"_

"Yep. Rubbish." The Doctor stuck his hands into his pockets. "And…Time Tot doesn't like it much, either."

"Waddya mean?" Rose asked, concerned.

"His timeline isn't getting stronger, love, it's becoming even more blurry."

"Well, let's…let's keep going, alright?" she said with a hitch in her voice, trying not to show her fear. "We just need to work harder. It'll come to us, yeah? It has to! That book was in Mum's flat. If we don't write it, there'll be a paradox, right?"

"It's nearly five, Rose. Let's go home. We're not doing ourselves any favors trying to work on this tonight. You're tired. I can tell. You need to rest. Don't want you getting sick. You aren't invincible you know."

Rose nodded and wearily picked up her handbag.

Thursday was a repeat of Wednesday, but worse. The Doctor was even more blocked, and Rose was of no help.

Friday came, and while both would have rather stayed in bed, especially after they shared their passionate morning ritual. They were in a hopeful mood, as the Doctor had come up with a thought.

"Rose, I couldn't sleep last night, which is fine, as you well know. I'm not on low sleep cycle right now…anyway, I thought about the book all night long. Every time I made a correction in my head that gave more detail, Time Tot's timeline got stronger," the Doctor mused. "It's like the book has to be…engaging, begging to be read."

"So, if we try to muck with the facts, make the story less, well, realistic, his timeline goes wonky?"

"Yeah…" he drawled. "Sorry Rose, looks like the readers are gonna get the full monty."

Rose groaned and fell onto her side. She buried her face into a peacock blue cushion on the sofa and groaned.

oOo

Friday evening arrived, and the Doctor and Rose delivered a first draft of chapter three to Bess, the account of the morning after the curry incident.

Bess waved her friends off, and sent them home. She was going to work late tonight as Niles was at Torchwood, and she had hours of editing piled up on her desk. On top of that, she had new administrative responsibilities. Daniel Higgins' disappearance had left a gaping hole in management. As dastardly as the man had been, he had definitely had a sense for business. She had infused Prescott Publishing with a much-needed investment, and with that investment came more managerial say in the day to day business of the publishing house.

She kicked off her Bally dress shoes, and wiggled her toes. Chapter three of _Blame It On Barcelona_ was sitting on her desk, just waiting to be read. She picked it up with anticipation. If the chapter turned out to be anything like her chat with Rose the other night, it would be just what she needed to cheer her up. She was in the mood for a bit of steamy, unrequited, romance.

But what she read surprised her, not in a good way. The words were flat, dull and nothing like the frankly naughty chapter that John Smith, the _real_ John Smith, had provided to her the week before her life had been turned on its ear, the week she learned about the Doctor, and aliens and what Torchwood really did.

"What is this?" she said, confused. "I don't get it. This reads like an instruction manual on how to assemble do-it-yourself furniture. This will never sell."

Bess sighed as she read through the edits that Rose and the Doctor had made to the prior chapters. The life had been sucked out of those chapters as well. All of the romance, intrigue, and emotion were gone. John Smith had been a genius writer. Apparently the Doctor wasn't.

She rang up Niles. "I…I can't come work at Torchwood yet, Niles. _Blame it on Barcelona_ has to be a smash hit, or else Prescott is going to go under! I can't let that happen to all of the people who work here."

"I'm so sorry, Bootsie, but I suppose that's alright. No real hurry is there? Torchwood will still be here when the book is complete. Jack is going to be awfully disappointed, though."

"I'll tell him myself, alright? Goodnight Niles darling, I'll see you tomorrow." She sent him kisses through the telephone.

* * *

Was it worth the wait?


	12. A Brilliant, Yet Terrifying Idea

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 11 - A Brilliant, Yet Terrifying Idea**

* * *

Jackie sat on the sofa in Bess's lounge, and looked out the window at the sun-kissed afternoon. She had cloistered herself since Saturday afternoon when Rose had dropped her off after the shopping trip. Her body was tired from lack of sleep, and eyeslids heavy and swollen from crying. She couldn't stop thinking about Rose's words at Henrik's, and had replayed them in her mind what seemed like a thousand times.

"_Our baby...for a millisecond, he blinked out of existence! Because you met Granddad! This baby...he almost didn't happen!"_

Rose had never been so angry…ever…and deservedly so, Jackie thought. She held a glass of red wine in her hand, but had yet to sample one taste of the fine French Cabernet Sauvignon. Jackie let her mind wander as she surveyed the events of the fifteen months.

_A few weeks before Christmas, with a mournful groan, the TARDIS appeared without warning in her very lounge..._

_The leather-coated Doctor emerged from his blue ship, cradling Rose's limp, lifeless body in his arms…_

"_Forgive me Jackie, forgive me..." He closed the door of the TARDIS behind him..._

_Kneeling next to the sofa, Jackie wept, showering her daughter's waxy, pale face with tears..._

_...but then, in what she had thought was a dream, the product of her grief addled mind, Rose's eyes snapped opened. A limpid pool of golden fairy dust swirled in her light brown eyes, and just like that, Rose came back from The Beyond._

Weeks passed as slowly, Rose recovered physically from the extreme headache and burning fever that had followed her reanimation. A rift that developed between herself and her daughter as Rose spiraled downward into a morass of bitterness, confusion and depression, feeling abandoned and unloved.

Their relationship crisis erupted on Christmas Eve morning. Ugly, hurtful words were volleyed, some accusations were even true. They parted in anger, but were drawn back together in crisis, as a terrifying spaceship that looked like a flying rock hovered over London.

In a chance meeting, Jack Harkness found the mother and daughter as they were being pursued by deadly automatons disguised as Santa Claus. Jack convinced Jackie that he had to hide Rose away, to keep her safe from Torchwood. Christmas night, he whisked Rose away to an unknown location outside of London.

That Christmas night, she had sat alone in her flat, feeling much the same as she did at this moment: confused, distraught, feeling quite small and insignificant compared to her universe-saving daughter and son-in-law.

The Doctor, with a new face, showed up on her doorstep, again seeking forgiveness. His face had changed, as had his personality. He was heartbroken, a changed man from the confident, selfish Doctor that Jackie had come to loathe. She told him that Rose was alive after all, and just as quickly, the broken man had disappeared. In his place stood a terrifying man of single purpose. He would find his Rose, and they _would_ be reconciled.

The next year had been confusing to say the least, as a _future_ Doctor and Rose, apparently _married, _showed up from time to time. Sometimes they came for Sunday dinner, other times to simply say, 'hello.' This Doctor _trusted_ Jackie, even had great affection for her. Jackie came to truly see this skinny man in the brown pinstripes as her son-in-law. Daresay, she even _loved_ him, absolutely saw him as a member of her family.

…And then one day in early December, the future Doctor and Rose arrived with a third person...

...He cradled her limp form in his arms, but unlike the year prior, the Doctor was grinning brightly. The Doctor and Rose had gone to Cardiff to refuel, and had found her living with Jack in his secret bunker known as the Hub, near the Rift.

The Doctor had explained to Jackie how Rose could never know where she had been that year, and that her lost memories were to be blamed upon an accident on Christmas Eve the year prior. With Rose's express consent, he had locked her memories away, and placed her in a deep sleep. Future Rose had been positively giddy as she explained to Jackie what had happened, and how she finally remembered everything that had been hidden to her.

The future couple left, handing Rose over to Time, allowing the timelines to fall into place.

Present Rose and the Doctor found each other on their own just a few weeks later, even if Rose didn't _know_ she had found him. On Christmas Eve, Rose Tyler finally, on her own, discovered the truth of the man with whom she had quickly fallen in love. She had known him as her employer, the scientist, Dr. John Smith, but in reality, John was the Doctor. Jackie had kept his secret, which according to the future Doctor, was of the utmost importance. Rose had to figure out the puzzle on her own.

It didn't take long, of course, and Rose had followed the Doctor into that blue box of his. Future Doctor and Rose continued to visit, while present Rose and Doctor were traveling; and then on Valentine's Day, the present Doctor and Rose showed up with news for Jackie. They had officially married in an intimate ceremony in the manner of her alien son-in-law's extinct people.

They had been forced to flee a family of bloodthirsty criminals intent upon stealing their life forces, and had chosen to hide in plain sight, as completely different people. They had even found each other despite not knowing each other. As humans, they fell in love in a whirlwind, heated romance, and had married in the space of a single month. Further, Rose was pregnant as a result of that human union.

If Jackie knew one thing, it was this: the safety of the Doctor and Rose's child had to be maintained _no matter what_. Nothing could interfere with what the future Doctor had explained about their combined timelines, and even though the baby was a surprise to them all, that he had not seen the blessing, the child had to be protected.

Jackie came to a decision. She would do whatever she had to do to make sure that her grandchild remained safe and sound, and _firmly_ _in existence_.

oOo

"Rose! Wake up _right_ now!"

Rose grumbled, mumbled and rolled over, trying to ignore her husband who was standing in the open doorway of their bedroom bouncing on his toes. Impatient for her to answer, the Doctor ran up to the side of their bed, and shook her somewhat roughly. "Rose! I have an idea. A brilliant, wonderful, fantastic, idea!"

"'M too tired right now. We just shagged what… two hours ago? Can't you just take care of-"

"It's been four hours, twenty-two minutes, and no I wasn't thinking about sexual intercourse, I was mulling over our problem! About the writer's block! I've been sitting in the lounge staring into the fire, well not just staring, thinking and eating bananas." He gave her the telepathic equivalent of a cold shower.

Rose screamed and sat bolt upright, fully awake. "That was really mean," she stated, irritated.

He ignored her. "We need to become John and Jane and again."

Rose stared at her husband with a look that spoke volumes more than words could ever say, but she finally did tell him exactly what she was thinking. He knew what was going through her head already, of course.

"Go through that chameleon arch torture again? Are you mental?" Rose swung her legs out of bed, and headed for the en suite to use the loo, her pregnant biology having kicked in.

"Sometimes I am mental, but not this time. This time I'm brilliant! Remember our first night back here? How we allowed ourselves to be John and Jane again?"

"Yeah, course, how could I forget. It was fantastic," she called from the tile-lined bathroom, voice a bit hollow-sounding. "And remember what happened when we didn't come out of it like we were supposed to? What if we get so into character, that we get stuck again, Doctor, even worse this time?"

"No! No! No! I've solved that problem! It was stupid of me to make that complicated _omelette_ phrase our escape route. I'll set an egg timer, instead!"

"What's with you and eggs now?" Rose asked, emerging from the en suite. "Speaking of eggs, you hungry?"

"Sure. I'll tell you more over breakfast. I promise Rose, this time it will be perfectly safe and predictable."

"Whatever you say," she mused with a heavy sigh. "So you'll plant an actual time of day into our psyches that will bring us back out? Every day?" Rose wrapped a dressing gown around her naked body.

"Yeah. Brilliant, huh? When we are at Prescott Publishing, we'll be John and Jane Smith, co-authors of the soon to be smash hit novel, _Blame it on Barcelona_. At home and on weekends, we'll be us." The Doctor pushed a cup of tea towards Rose, and then took a sip of his own hot, sweet tea, smiling at her over the brim of the teacup.

"But Doctor, when we were John and Jane, it was _because_ of the Chameleon Arch thing. Our bodies were _different_. What if the only reason I could type that fast because my fingers were physically different? What if the reason you came up with your book so easily was because you were _human_? You had a human brain, Doctor. What if just having their memories and personalities isn't enough to make this work?"

"It's worth a try, Rose. It couldn't hurt, now could it? Come on. Please? Where's your sense of adventure?" The Doctor bounced on his toes.

"I think my sense of adventure sort of dissolved away when our baby's timeline became unstable," she said quietly, with a worried frown.

The Doctor looked at his wife with softness in his eyes, and understanding in his heart. He stroked her cheek, and comforted her mentally. He showed her a picture of their baby's stable timeline. "Rose, when I came up with this scheme, our baby's timeline stabilized."

Rose was unhesitant in her reply. "Well if that's the case, then of course we need to do it. I just don't get why our child's life is dependent upon this book being finished."

"A mystery to me too, love." The Doctor hugged Rose from behind and put his chin on her shoulder.

Rose cracked the eggs into a small bowl and whisked them with a fork before pouring them into a hot skillet.

Over fluffy scrambled eggs and toast with jam, the Doctor explained how the transition into John and Jane would work.

"So we won't know anything about the Doctor and Rose while we are John and Jane?" she asked.

"Nope. We will truly believe that we are newlyweds, John and Jane Smith. We will relate to Bess, Niles, Jack like we did before. Your Mum will have to be in character as Ginger. We're going to have to bring them up to speed on our plan."

"But we'll be able to remember what John and Jane did, right? So we won't be confused 'cos we made a promise to someone, or something, while in disguise?"

"Yep. We'll remember everything."

"When do you want to start?" asked Rose. She was still nervous about the plan, but knew in her heart that it was the right thing to do.

"Well, today, of course," the Doctor said, with slight condescension. "No time like the present. The faster we get this book written…Let's just say I'll feel a lot better about the safety of our Time Tot, Rose."

"You know, Jane doesn't know she's pregnant," she said, one eyebrow raised. "She won't know for a few more weeks, in fact. Not that she's a risk taker, but could you, I don't know, plant something in her mind that makes her eat well and stay away from ciggy smoke and not drink any alcohol? And what if I get morning sickness? She'll just think it's the flu, 'cos no human woman would ever suspect being pregnant so soon after their first time. It wouldn't be biologically possible."

"Good thinking. Consider it done."

Rose did the dish washing while the Doctor dried. It was still early, as he had awoken Rose around five o'clock in the morning. They decided to sit, drink their tea, and talk some more before they called Bess to tell her the plan. Rose was nervous about talking to her mother. They hadn't spoken properly since the argument at Henrik's.

"Doctor, will you tell everyone? You can explain it so much better than I ever could."

The Doctor knew that Rose was having a difficult time forgiving Jackie's actions. He nodded. "But Rose, you're going to have to talk to your mother sometime. Promise me you will?"

"Yeah, I will," she said quickly and then moved on. "It's probably safe to call Bess now. She's up early. May even be at the office already." Rose stood up and went to the telephone, and dialed Bess's office number. Bess was, in fact, already at the office.

"Hi Bess, it's Rose. The Doctor has something he wants to talk to you about. I'll put him on the line." Rose handed the black telephone handset to her husband, and then crossed her arms across her body, nervously hugging herself, as she listened to him give Bess a very long and detailed explanation of their plan.

After the call ended, Rose asked, "So, how did she take it?"

"Good. Good. Well...nervous. More than nervous really. Rather upset to be honest." The Doctor rubbed the back of his neck.

Rose sighed. "You should call Jack next."

"You took the thoughts right out of my head," he said with a saucy grin, which she returned, happy to be distracted by a bit of levity.

oOo

"G'mornin' Smiths!" William Benson, the lift operator, was surprisingly cheerful for such a gray Monday morning.

"Hello Billy-boy. You're in a good mood. Did you have a good weekend?" asked John Smith.

"I typed up a chapter - over five thousand words! I have a new story. I took your advice Mr. Smith, and decided to write what I know instead of one of those wild plots with adventurers and pirates or the like. There's this bloke, see, and he's in love with this girl, from afar, but she's completely unaware of his feelings for her. And he does everything he can to catch her attention, but she just can't be swayed. So he decides to rob a bank so he can-"

"You've robbed a bank?" Jane asked, incredulous.

"Naw, of course not! But it's exciting innit?" Billy was bouncing with energy.

"Exciting, yes. Believable? No." John clapped him on the shoulder. "Find another way to catch her attention. I advise against bank robbery."

"Good idea, sir, ma'am. See ya later!"

The lift doors slid open, and the newlyweds walked out, holding hands. As soon as the doors closed, Jane burst into a fit of laughter. "Rob a bank to catch her attention? That's rich."

"Who's robbing a bank?" Bess asked, as she came up behind John and Jane. She had been waiting for them for fifteen minutes, wanting to see for herself, just how deep in character the Doctor and Rose had dived.

"No one," Jane said lightly. "Just a conversation we had in the lift with Billy."

"Billy's gonna rob a bank?" asked Barbara the receptionist.

"Billy is not robbing a bank," John said with a chuckle. "_No one_ is robbing a bank. There is no bank robbery occurring." His r's rolled pleasantly off of his tongue.

"Well that's good. I'd hate to see such a nice fella get thrown in the clink because he did something so stupid." Barbara returned her attention to her work.

"Bess, we are feeling so much better about the book. We came up with some great ideas over the weekend, and think we can get you a proper final draft of chapter three either today or tomorrow," said Jane.

Bess swallowed hard and nodded with a strained smile.

"Everything alright, Bess?" asked Jane, noticing the tension on her friend's face.

"Fine! Fine. Everything is... fine." She sighed and smiled more brightly, doing her best to put up a mask of sincerity. She felt like she was the understudy to the star of a play, suddenly thrust into the spotlight without nearly as much practice as she needed.

"Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, sorry to interrupt, but your friend, Mr. Harkness, is waiting in your office." Barbara's face flushed when she said his name. She looked down at a stack of papers and rearranged them, hoping no one noticed the pink blush crawling up her cheeks and neck.

"I said he could wait in there," Bess added. "Hope you don't mind." Jack had called Bess within seconds of hanging up from his conversation with the Doctor. They needed to conference, and synchronize their end of the plan. He wanted to witness just how far the transformation back into John and Jane had gone.

"'Course not, Bess. Thank you Barbara," Jane replied kindly, with knowing smile. The pretty girl blushed even more brightly, bit her lip and looked away.

When John and Jane were clear of Barbara's ability to hear their conversation, Jane leaned into John's side. "I think that Barbara fancies Jack."

"Yeah, well tell her steer clear of him. He's a playboy," warned John.

"But he's nice, and really handsome. She seems so lonely. And I bet if I talked to him, he'd treat her with respect." Jane looked back over her shoulder at the pretty receptionist.

"But who knows what Jack's definition of respect is." John stopped just shy of the door to his office. "Who do you think Billy's got his eyes set on? He said he'd decided to take my advice, and write about something he knew..."

"And he said he loved someone from afar..." Jane added, raising her eyebrows conspiratorially.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I don't know, John Smith. What are you thinking?" Jane asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"I think we need to find out who Billy fancies, and help him along. _Really_ give him something to write about..."

"Who knew you were such a romantic."

"You do bring out the best in me." John twisted the doorknob, and in they went to his office.

Jack was sitting on the orange sofa at the far end of the spacious room, munching on an apple.

"Hello newlyweds!" He got up from the sofa with his arms wide open, and then pulled the two of them into a hug, one under each arm. "Howzit going?"

He released them, and like magnets, John and Jane joined hands.

John and Jane looked at each other, smiled and kissed quickly. "Great!" said John still looking into Jane's eyes.

Jack smiled and shook his head, bemused at the sight of the Doctor and Rose being John and Jane. His Scottish accent was soft, and her speech patterns were slightly different as well. The Doctor's hair was styled relatively conservative, in comparison to his standard, and dead sexy, wild hedgehog style. Rose carried herself much more stiffly. One thing had not changed: they still could not keep their hands to themselves. It was as if they were each others' security blanket.

"So just thought I'd stop by. Was in the neighborhood. So, howzit going?" he repeated a bit nervously.

"You already asked that, Jack. We are still fine," answered Jane with a small laugh. "Worried about something?"

"Just making sure my best buddy and his new bride are...up to speed on...things." Jack winked, not sure why he had come up with this particular stalling tactic. He had always been attracted to both the Doctor and Rose, and falling into his habit of flirting with them, especially now that they were officially together, was so natural. He knew, however, that he would have to reign it in.

"Is this your way of asking if our," John cleared his throat, "intimate relationship is copacetic?"

Jack feigned a hearty laugh. "You know me, naughty Jack!"

"That's enough out of you, Jack-o." John pointed an angry finger in Jack's face.

Jane blushed, but tried hard to stifle a laugh, ultimately failing. "Thank you for your concern Jack, and we're not talking about this again. John, we need to get going on this chapter. I can tell Bess is nervous about it. She was practically breathing down our necks out in the lobby. I do believe that she was waiting for us to show up!"

"If that's all Jack, we really do need to get to work." John slipped on his glasses and crossed his arms.

"Hey, before I forget, Jane, have you spoken with Ginger lately? She seems a bit...blue. Why don't you invite her over for dinner?" suggested Jack, hoping to plant a message in Rose's subconscious.

"That sounds like a wonderful idea! What do you think, John? Our first dinner party?"

"Brilliant idea! We'll get the whole gang together. The boys can play poker and smoke cigars out on the rooftop garden, and the girls can talk about wedding stuff with Bess."

"Thanks for the idea, Jack!" Rose kissed him on the cheek fondly, and then returned to John's side. He quickly draped his arm around Rose's shoulder.

Jack left, his curiosity and worries satisfied for the moment, and returned to Torchwood to confer with Niles.

oOo

"_One minute you are asking me out on a date, and the next, you're flirting with some…floozie! You are so...confusing! You are wishy-washy!" Iris accused, crying._

_The Professor had been accused of many things in his almost millenia-long life, but wishy-washy was not one of them._

"_And what about last night, hmm? Coming on to me one minute and then jumping away the next, hiding yourself away in the loo? Not very steadfast of you, Miss Mason."_

"_Don't you go turning this around against me, Professor! I'm not the one who was snogging the life out of me when you knew it really wasn't me, now was I?" challenged Iris._

"I am so glad you went back and put that argument back in!" Bess gushed as she finished reading chapter two aloud. "It works so much better. I don't know why you took it out in the first place. You should never doubt your first instincts, John, because they are usually right." Bess held up the finished final draft of chapter two. "I don't know that there is anything to edit!" Bess held the thick stack of papers closely to her chest and beamed. "So what's next? The love scene is coming up, right?" she asked, trying hard to be casual.

"We are going to begin work on chapter three tomorrow. Starting from scratch," John said without a hint of self-consciousness. "Remind me again why we butchered chapter three?"

"Oh, something about being afraid that your audience would find it too risqué," Bess lied convincingly, knowing the real reason was because the Doctor and Rose were horrified that the occasion of their first intimate encounter would be in print. "Let's go grab a drink to celebrate, what do you say?" Bess asked, forgetting about Rose's pregnancy.

"I'm not feeling so well all of a sudden, Bess. I think I ate something off at lunch."

"Told you not to get that dodgy meat pasty from that street vendor," John chided.

"Shoulda listened to you," Jane said. Her face became pale very quickly, she put her hand to her mouth and ran out of John's office, past the sparsely populated typing pool and into the toilet.

Bess and John hastened after her. John tried to follow his wife into the ladies lounge, but Bess gave a 'you better not follow me' look.

"Jane, you alright, darling?" Bess asked quietly.

"Not really. Just got sick. I hate getting sick more than anything."

The Doctor had told Bess that she had to keep Rose's pregnancy an absolute secret for Jane and John to discover on their own. Rose had told Bess that she was already having symptoms of nausea and lightheadedness, due to the alienness of the pregnancy. She played along with Jane's misconception of her nausea being food-related. "Can I get you an Alka-Seltzer? I have some in my desk."

"Can't have it. Has aspirin in it. I'm allergic. I can have Bromo Seltzer. It has paracetamol." Jane stayed within the toilet stall, and she sounded miserable.

"I'll go tell John to run down to the chemist and buy some. I'll be right back, darling."

Bess mentally kicked herself. She had forgotten about the aspirin allergy that Rose had mentioned before. She was going to have to have a long talk with the Doctor, and the sooner, the better. She joined John, who was leaning against the wall outside of the bathroom, arms and legs crossed. "Run down to Boots and buy her some Bromo-Seltzer. She's awfully sick. I've warned her before not to get anything from that cart down the block. I don't think the man keeps his warmer hot enough."

"I'll be right back." John hastened to the lift, and was soon on his way to the chemist.

Jane shuffled out of the toilet, and Bess walked her back to John's office.

Cynthia, one of only two typists left in the typing pool, had been listening in on their conversation. She had a suspicion that Jane and John had married awfully hastily, and his chair-hopping announcement of their sudden nuptials and intention on starting a family sooner rather than later had only strengthened her theory. Now she had even more evidence: Jane Smith was pregnant. She was sure of it, and she was going to spread the word. Nothing was quite so tasty as a bit of juicy gossip to finish the day.

oOo

John drove home much less manically than usual, taking all turns slowly and carefully, so his wife's tenuously settled stomach would remain settled. They walked up the steps slowly and Jane tumbled into bed kicking off her heels, but remaining in her blush pink suit.

The mantel clock struck six o'clock, and John sat bolt upright from his spot in the lounge, ran into the bedroom, and gently touched her shoulder.

"Rose... you alright? You got sick at the office." The Doctor sat on the bed. "We're back... John and Jane are gone until tomorrow."

"Doctor. Need my tea from Shan Shen," she mumbled into the pillow.

The Doctor felt waves of discomfort rolling through her stomach through their marital bond. "Oh love, it's getting worse. Your hormones have spiked. Your'e going to be going through a growth spurt here very soon. Lots of activity in that uterus of yours."

Rose mumbled something incoherent.

"But the good news is that Junior is very, very stable."

Rose rolled onto her side, opened one eyelid and looked at the Doctor with a wan, but genuine smile. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." His reassuring smile did wonders to ease Rose's discomfort. "I'll go prepare a cup of tea for you."

Once Rose had drank the cup, her nausea diminished significantly. She sat up, and leaned against the teak headboard of their big. "I think we'd better find an OB we can trust, Doctor. What if something happens to me while I'm Jane, and Bess doesn't know what to do? She'll need to get me to a physician who can monitor me until we come back."

"Remember the Doctor who treated you after..." The Doctor stopped himself. The subject of Daniel Higgins was still very raw in Rose's mind. He hated to even think of his name for fear of upsetting Rose.

Rose nodded her head, knowing of whom he was referring. "Dr. Margaret Lambert. Jack told us she was one of Torchwood's approved physicians."

"Question is, is she trustworthy? He's so adamant that we can't let Torchwood know that we're here. I'll talk with Jack and Niles about her. Maybe we could have her over for dinner? Add her to the guest list?"

"This party is gettin' bigger and bigger. I think you'd better zap me into Jane during the cooking part," joked Rose.

"I may just have to do that." The Doctor leaned in and kissed Rose's lips. "Blech. Partially digested pasty."

"You're disgusting!"

* * *

Told you this story wasn't dead; far from it, in fact. I hope to alternate updates between My Fair Rose and Found & Forgotten, hopefully once every other week. It feels so good to write these characters again.


	13. Love, Marriage, Baby Carriage

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 12 - Love, Marriage, Baby Carriage**

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday passed by smoothly. Each morning, the Doctor and Rose transformed themselves into John and Jane before going to the office. Their days were productive, and chapter two of Blame it on Barcelona was finalized. At closing time on Friday, they walked down the hall with lightness in their steps, ready to proudly hand over the final draft of chapter two to their editor, Bess.

"Hi Mary, Bess here?" asked Jane.

"You just missed her. She left on time, for once," said Bess's secretary. "But I know she will be elated to see this come Monday morning. She's been a bit nervous this week, and I suspect it is due to your writer's block, Mr. Smith. So glad you snapped out of it." Mary picked up a pencil and nervously tapped the pink eraser on her ink blotter, not quite meeting John's eyes. She attempted casual indifference. "So...Mr. Smith...when are the Professor and Iris going to..._you know_?" Mary, who was on the far end of forty, blushed like a schoolgirl.

"Anxious are ye?" John teased.

Mary blushed again as the handsome man winked at her. "Oh piffle! Just don't make 'em wait too long! I think I'm about to bust with anticipation!" Mary blurted out. "I never thought I'd be one to go for that science fiction stuff, but ever since Bess put me onto your books, I haven't been able to put them down!"

John grinned, and made a happy sound as he rocked on his heels. "Which is your favorite?"

"Oh, that's a difficult question to answer, isn't it? Let me see…" Mary put her fingertip to her lips as she pondered. "_A Daughter's Love_ perhaps?"

"I'm particularly proud of that one," John said soberly, nodding. "So what do you think? Should the Professor have taken Iris to see her father?"

"He obviously loves her, and wants to please her, but...I don't know. I think they were both a bit foolish. It all turned out well in the end, of course, and they both learned an important lesson."

"Iris is both the Professor's Achilles' Heel, _and_ his Fortuna," John conceded.

"His Fortuna. I like rather that," Jane said with a grin. "I think you need to use that."

John wrinkled his brow as if he were trying to draw up a memory that wasn't a memory. It wasn't deja vu; it was more like seeing the future. He shook off the odd feeling.

"So Jane, I'm assuming you've read his books, right?" Mary asked, nodding at John.

"All of 'em. Several times," Jane said. She leaned closer to Mary. "But I'll tell you a secret. Before John and I met, I used to hide his books under my pillow. I'd never read anything like 'em before, and I felt a little bit wicked." Jane bit her lip.

"I have a feeling you're going to make all of us feel a whole lot more wicked, aren't you Mr. Smith?" Mary paused. "Right?"

Jane giggled and covered her mouth with her hands as she nodded.

"Alrighty, it's time to go Mrs. Smith," John said with a smirk as he grabbed her hand and dragged her away from the chatty secretary.

"Ta ra, have a pleasant weekend," Jane said over her shoulder as John tugged her down the corridor.

John knew that if his wife became even more engaged in conversation, it would be half an hour before they would be able to leave the building. It was Friday night, and John had a surprise for Jane; he was taking her out for an evening of dinner and dancing at the Tiki Tiki Club. He was even going to wear his white dinner jacket. The last time he had worn it was the night of the disastrous date with Priscilla Bootkins.

"What's your hurry? Building on fire?" asked Jane as they stepped into the lift.

"Very much in a hurry. I have a surprise for you. We are going out." He smiled brightly and bounced on his toes.

"Where ya takin' your wife, Mr. Smith?" asked Billy the lift operator, overhearing their conversation.

"Someplace fantastic, someplace very special to the two of us," John said, trying to be cryptic.

"We're going to the Tiki, aren't we?" Jane asked, gushing.

"Awww, how'd you guess?" John whinged, upset that the surprise was spoilt.

"You sorta gave it away, we didn't go many places before we were married, and I don't know of anyplace more special to us than the Tiki," Jane said, as she looped her arm through his and squeezed, looking up at him with adoration.

"I can think of quite a few places, Mrs. Smith," he said, proudly. "The private garden, the Embankment, New Delhi, Victoria Gardens…"

Jane blushed at the memories he elicited as he recited the venues of their whirlwind courtship.

"You're a lucky bloke, Mr. Smith. If I had a girl like your Mrs. Smith here, I'd take her dancin' every night," Billy mused.

"Then you'd better start working on that book of yours so you can foot the bill of nightly dinner and dancing," said John with a grin.

"Suppose you're right." Billy shuffled his feet, and then brightened. "Speaking of writing, I tossed that daft bank heist idea."

"Figured out that major crime wouldn't be too impressive to your secret love, eh?" Jane smiled at him.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "I came up with something really fantastic! He has a name now, too. I'm going to name him after myself. No harm that is there? But instead of Billy I'm going to call him Will, and he is a sergeant in the SAS." Billy puffed out his chest and nodded his head, grinning. "Sort of a renegade, though. Always mouthing off to his CO. A _won't take no for an answer _sort of fellow. It will get him in heaps of trouble, but in the end, he'll save the day…and get the girl."

"Oh that's brilliant!" John slapped the young man's back in a show of manly adulation.

Billy beamed, proud, but then his countenance changed. He remembered the advice that Mr. Smith had always given him before. "Hey wait a minute, you're having me on, aren't ya? I knew it was a stupid idea."

John stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Now why would I go and say something daft like that?"

"'Cos ya always tell me ta _'Wrrrrite what yee kneeeww Beeely,'_" Billy said, exaggerating John's Scottish accent.

"Do I look like a nine hundred year old time and space traveling alien?" John blurted back comically, accent just as thick as Billy's poor imitation.

"Course not," Billy replied with a chuckle. He noted that the lights on the display panel were indicating passengers were waiting for his return on the floors above. "I've got customers. I need to drive this box back up there."

"Have a brilliant weekend Billy-boy." John pulled out his wallet and produced a few notes, which he shoved into Billy's hand. "Go find a pretty girl and ask her out dancing."

"Thanks a million, Mr. Smith!" Billy exclaimed.

Jane waved as she said, "Bye," and out they went.

"That was awfully nice of you," Jane said as she snaked her arm around John's waist.

"I _am_ nice bloke, aren't I?" he announced, proudly.

"Thanks for encouraging him," Jane praised her husband.

"Dunno where he got that _'write what you know'_ rot," John mused, confused.

"There wouldn't be many books if people only wrote what they knew," Jane added.

"Aye."

They walked hand in hand in silence down the block, content just to be next to one another.

Rose was the first to break the quiet. "So dancing at the Tiki Tiki... What made you want to go out tonight?" she asked. John's Aston Martin was now in sight.

"We had so few dates before we were married, and I like the idea of wooing you, even though we're already married." John stood by the passenger door and gallantly opened it for her.

Jane felt a wave of warm affection both for his chivalry, and the desire to keep their romance fresh.

"And…I wanted to see you all dressed up. You know, I have never seen you in evening wear, and before you say it, as beautiful as you looked on our wedding day, your wedding dress does _not_ count as evening wear."

Jane bit her lip, now rather excited for the night to come. "I do have a rather pretty frock that Bess bought me that you have yet to see. Think I'll take it out for a spin tonight. It's ankle length. Is that too posh?"

"Hardly. You've seen how people dress there. Almost anything goes...blue jeans to ball gowns."

"What are you going to wear?" asked Jane.

"I think I'll wear my white dinner jacket, and my most comfortable dancing shoes."

"Your plimsols?" Jane scrunched up her nose.

"No!" John protested.

"I wouldn't have minded, y'know, you wearing plimsols. It's sort of endearing, really. You wore 'em on our first date."

"Which first date? Rose or Jane?"

Jane laughed. "Not many women get to have two first dates with the same man. The night I lied...Rose. You wore a brown jumper and white plimsols."

"You wore an orange dress, too much green eye gunk and had the most kissable lips I have ever seen. It took all of my self control to not snog your face off, _Rose Tyler._"

Jane leaned across the console separating them from each other, and kissed him soundly.

John pulled back and grinned at her. "There's a great act tonight."

"Who?"

"Cliff Richard."

"I love Cliff Richard!" said Jane dreamily, like a lovestruck sixteen year old girl.

John looked at his wife, and for a moment, saw hints of the shy woman with whom he fell in love two months before. He pushed the accelerator a little more, hurrying them home, anxious to get the evening started.

They scampered up the stairwell and spilled into their flat, tripping over each other giddily. The clock on the mantel chimed six o'clock. John and Jane were still in the throes of silly giggles when the Doctor and Rose returned to the fore.

"Hello!" Rose greeted her husband, through her laughter.

"It's so nice to be back." The Doctor looked at Rose lovingly, and then hugged her. He pulled away and went down on his knees, and kissed her belly with fatherly love. "Hello Little One, just look at you all blue and gold and sparkly!" He stood up and guided her to the sofa by the hand. "It's working, Love," he said jubilantly. "Whatever it is that we're doing, we're doing it right, 'cos Little Alistair or Liz is glowing as bright as a bioluminescent Uveglian moth grub."

"That bright, yeah?" Rose beamed, not having the faintest idea what a Uveglian moth grub was.

"Oh very bright. They are the primary artificial light source on Moop. Treated like royalty, too. They live out the pupa stage of their lives reclining on a velvet cushion under a crystal dome, and they're hand fed berries by lovely maidens, and when I say lovely, I mean exceedingly ugly, but lovely to the Moopans. So you up for a night of dancing at the Tiki Tiki?"

"Cliff Richard?" Rose screwed up her face. "My mum has a thing for Cliff Richard, y'know."

"I bet she does," the Doctor laughed. "But still, it sounds nice, doesn't it? Going out? Not unless you aren't feeling up to it, of course, but you seem right as rain."

"I feel great, actually. Really great. Knowing little..." Rose thought for a moment. "...Little Harriet or..." She thought again. "...Charles is safe has done wonders for my outlook." Rose looked down and picked her fingers a bit. "Um...could we, I don't know, go as John and Jane? Maybe?" she asked, hesitantly.

"Why do you want to go as John and Jane?" asked the Doctor, more curious than confused.

"They love the place so much, and like John said, they had only a few dates before they were married. And they haven't been back to the Tiki Tiki alone since that first night. It would also give them a chance to talk about their reception."

The Doctor thought about it for a moment. "Reception?" he asked, blank faced.

"You didn't forget did you? Bess and Niles offered to share their reception with us...as John and Jane."

"It's just so...domestic." He crinkled his face.

"I know it is." Rose wrapped her arms up around his neck. "It would mean the world to them," she cooed into his ear.

"But to whom exactly? Bess and Niles, John and Jane, or you and me?" The Doctor raised his eyebrows.

Rose kissed the smirk off of his face. "All of us."

oOo

"It's my favorite Scottish guy who writes science fiction and his lovely wife Jane!" Robert Nakamura greeted John and Jane at their table.

"Busy tonight… Glad I made a reservation for once," said John, looking out across the restaurant.

"Aww, I would've found a place for you and the missus even if you hadn't have called." Robert left their table, off to greet more guests.

"John, thanks again. This is a lovely surprise." Jane looked at John with wide eyes, still not used to this glamorous life, which she found herself living.

"Care to dance?" His wife nodded, and he led her by the hand to the crowded dance floor.

The full skirt of Jane's coral cocktail dress flared out he as twirled her by the hand, and then pulled her back into his arms to the strains of _Blue Velvet_, sung by Bobby Vinton.

"I hope you aren't disappointed that there was a change in performer. I was sort of looking forward to Cliff Richard," John said into Jane's ear, so she could hear above both the band and the murmur of the crowd.

"Oh, I'm not disappointed at all. Bobby Vinton is brilliant," Jane answered, genuinely happy.

They took one more turn around the floor, dancing cheek to cheek to _Roses Are Red, _before returning to their table.

"Love the dress," John said, running his fingertip up her bare arm to her exposed shoulder, and then back down to her hand.

Jane smiled and nodded, but didn't speak. She reached for her Mai Tai, the one provided to every guest as they arrived at the club. Jane brought it to her lips, but then hesitated, not drinking. The aroma of the liquor and fruit juices, and the mere thought of drinking the exotic beverage, turned her stomach. After setting it back down on the table, she pushed it away.

"John, would you flag a waitress? I think I'd like a ginger ale, please."

"Not feeling well again?" he asked.

Jane's stiffly hair sprayed coif did not move as she nodded her head. "I think its the smoke and noise and… ah… excuse me, please, I need the ladies," she said quietly.

Ever the gentleman, John stood as she slid off of the banquette. He watched her with concern as she hastily half-ran to the toilet covering her mouth with her hand.

oOo

Jane emerged from marble-lined the toilet stall to discover she wasn't alone. A well-dressed middle-aged woman wearing a peacock blue, beaded evening suit was sitting on the sofa in the lounge area. Jane felt self-conscious as she rinsed out her mouth and washed her hands, knowing this woman had been subjected to the sounds of her getting sick.

"Are you alright, dear?" the woman asked kindly, before standing up and approaching her. "I've been waiting for you to come out. You were in there nearly ten minutes. I heard, well, the unpleasantness."

Jane dabbed her face with one of the provided flannels and tossed it into the dirty linens bin.

"I think I'm fine now, thank you." Jane moved to leave, but the woman pressed the matter.

"You're John's wife, right? I'm Mrs. Nakamura, Robert's wife." She smiled kindly at Jane, and placed her hand on Jane's arm.

Jane nodded and managed a smile. "Yes, we've been married two weeks now."

"You should sit down for a moment, here on the sofa. Let me get you a cool flannel for your forehead. You look rather peeked."

"I think I just would like to go home," Jane replied. "But thank you, all the same."

"Are you expecting, dear?"

"Me? No. Like I said, we've only been married two weeks. Not even two weeks, actually. I thought it was food poisoning the other day, and I've been a bit tired. Now I think that I caught a bug of some sort."

"Whatever you say, dear," the woman smiled, but not unkindly. "I understand about young people nowadays. _Things_ often happen _before_ you get married, and well, there's no shame in a baby. Babies are lovely."

"No, really, Mrs. Nakamura. I don't need to defend myself to you, but I'm not pregnant. Truly. John and I never, not once before we were married." Jane closed her eyes and shook her head, stopping herself from continuing any further, already feeling self conscious about the amount of information she had shared. "Thank you for your concern, Mrs. Nakamura."

"I didn't mean to offend you, dear. I'm sorry for pressing. I'm just an old busybody, sticking my nose where it doesn't belong."

oOo

Ten minutes passed before Jane returned to the table. John furrowed his brow as he saw her pasty white face, and shaking hands. Jane sat down gingerly, and John slid his arm around Jane's shoulder and pulled his wife close.

"Maybe it wasn't food poisoning after all. Perhaps you've caught a stomach virus?" he asked.

Jane nodded. "It definitely isn't food poisoning. I feel awful. I'm so sorry, John, but would you take me home please?"

John pulled out his wallet, and tossed a stack of notes on the table to cover the drinks and the meals they had ordered, which would now go uneaten. Robert caught them as they were leaving.

"Leaving so soon?" he asked.

"Jane is poorly, I'm afraid," explained John.

"Sorry to hear that, Jane," Robert offered kindly. "Go home and rest. You take good care of her, John."

"Aye, that I will."

John and Jane left, the car was retrieved by the valet, and they made their way home. Very few words were spoken as John carefully navigated the streets back to their flat.

Even though she knew it was impossible, Jane could not stop thinking about Mrs. Nakamura's question._ "Are you expecting, dear?"_

oOo

"Well, that was embarrassing," said Rose as she hanged up her coral colored cocktail dress, and then padded barefoot across the soft bedroom carpeting. She flopped onto the bed, crawled inside and then scooted up against the headboard to drink more of her anti-nausea tea.

"What?" asked the Doctor as he dressed for bed, feeling both the need for actual sleep, and physical contact with Rose to ease the mental discomfort to which he was now referring as 'TARDIS withdrawal.'

"Mrs. Nakamura was in the loo with me while I was honking...and then she said, _'Are you expecting, dear?'_" Rose exaggerated the woman's Cambridge-educated accent.

"I think I'm rubbing off on you. You're being rude," teased the Doctor.

"Yeah, well, I'm grumpy." She crossed her arms and stared straight ahead.

The Doctor half-smiled as he flipped up the covers and scooted close to Rose. "Why don't you turn out the light, snuggle up, and I'll help take away the grumpies."

Rose looked at him with incredulity. "Is sex your answer to everything?"

"Did I say anything about intercourse? If you recall, I said _snuggle up,_ not _copulate_."

"Yeah, well, I can read your mind, and can feel the evidence. Doesn't take a genius to know when you're randy."

"Come on, what's really going on?" The Doctor sat up next to Rose, modeling her pose against the headboard.

Rose screwed up her face and looked at him, as she let out a defeated sigh. "You're right. It isn't what happened at the Tiki, and I'm sorry I was rude… It's just that I haven't talked to Mum in a week, and she hasn't called me, and…and…and…" Rose brought her hands to face and she started to cry. She sniffed the tears away, calming herself so she could talk. "It's like she doesn't care or something. I thought for sure by now she would've at least called me to apologize, but she's avoiding me, and we've never been this mad at each other before. Never, Doctor, not even when I ran off with Jimmy. Not even after you left me last Christmas."

"It isn't too late to call her right now," suggested the Doctor.

Rose looked at the clock and saw that it was just after nine o'clock.

"You'll sleep better," he added. He handed the princess phone to Rose, stretching the long cord across his chest.

Hesitantly, Rose picked up the phone and dialed. It rang fifteen times before she gave up and rang off. "Not answering, or not home."

"Tomorrow, love. Get some sleep. Do you need me to help you calm down?" he asked, grazing her temple with his fingertips.

"Sure."

The couple turned out the lights, and slid under the covers. The Doctor whispered comfort into her mind, and in turn, Rose eased the dull mental pain he was feeling. They both slipped into sleep quickly and deeply.

oOo

Jackie Tyler had been nursing her ale for over an hour, and the chips in front of her remained untouched, long cold, and probably a bit rubbery. Jack had given her the name of this place after the debacle with her father the week prior.

She wasn't the only female who was alone in the pub, and she may have been the oldest, but she was certainly not lacking for attention. Quite a few interested looks had been thrown her way, but she had quickly shut down any hopes that the men may have had. A single glare from Jackie Tyler's blue eyes could tell a man, 'no' in a way so definite and final, that words were unnecessary.

She wasn't at the pub to seek out male companionship, nor was she the sort of woman who went to the pub to pull. She came here to find what she considered to be normal, everyday people… not dressed in fancy clothing, no airs and graces, probably from an estate, just like her. The patrons of this particular pub were salt of the Earth, familiar and easy to be around. She looked down at her dress: it was expensive and shouted French high fashion. Everything that the TARDIS had provided was exquisite, but the excitement over playing 1963 dress up had long worn off. Everything about the clothing now felt wrong: the fabric was too stiff, the lining crunchy, and the cut, restrictive. She felt out of place, and all she wanted to do right now was blend into the background.

A well-dressed man who smelled of expensive cologne slid onto the stool next to Jackie. He also looked out of place in the dark and dingy pub. He tapped his pinkie ring against the wood on the bar while he waited for the barkeep to finish up drawing someone's pint of ale.

He turned to Jackie and apprised her hair. "Cheri, you are in dire need a conditioning treatment." He spoke with an affected, French accent.

"Yeah, well, the brand I use is a bit hard to find these days," she replied sarcastically, knowing it wouldn't even be formulated until 2002.

"Let me have a look at you. I'm a professional. I know about these things." The man stood up and went behind Jackie's stool. He removed the pins that were holding her coif in place, and he began to rearrange it.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing? That bloody hairdo took me an hour! Gettoffame you weirdo!" Jackie pushed his hands away from her head.

The man quickly finished his work, masterfully twisting her hair, and replacing the pins before he returned to his stool, unfazed by her protests.

"Perfect," he said, examining his work. "You know, you'd look _magnifique_ as a ginger," he said, placing his pointer finger on his cheek.

"Never been a ginger before. My son-in-law would love that. He has a thing for gingers, even though he's married to a blonde. Always going on and one about the fact that he's never been ginger. Not that I ever get to see my daughter anymore since he stole her away in that…" Jackie paused to choose her word carefully. "…vehicle thing of his." She picked up her glass and drank the last third of her ale.

"Ahhh… Family troubles. That is why you're here alone on a Friday night, _non_? Stands to reason that a lovely woman such as yourself should not be alone."

Jackie cringed. She had broken a rule again…speaking about Rose and the Doctor, even though she had given no names.

"You comin' on to me? 'Cos I ain't interested, mister."

The man laughed heartily. "Hardly. I'm too old for that sort of thing. Just looking for someone friendly to talk to. Shall I find someplace else to sit?" He straightened his back proudly.

"Naw, you're okay. I think. I'm Jack— er, Ginger. Ginger…_Powell_." Jackie gave a different last name from the alias the Doctor had given her.

"Charmed," said the gentleman, as he kissed Jackie's knuckles. "I'm Henri. You have heard of me, _non_? I am the famous Henri of _Salon Henri_."

Jackie looked at him blankly. "Sorry, mate. Never heard of it. I'm new around here. Should I know ya?" she said with a smile as she bumped his shoulder.

Henri smiled and nodded. He liked this Ginger woman. She was different from the women with whom he socialized, worked and coiffed. She was forthright, unaffected, and real. It had been a long time since he had been around someone so genuine.

"So what do you do, Ginger?" he asked. The barkeep set a pint in front of the man.

"I'm a hairdresser, but I ain't been working much lately. Just… just moved to London 'cos of my daughter. She and Himself live here," she said with a smirk.

"You don't get along with the man, I take?"

"Used to. But he's changed. She's changed too. She never used to be so moody. She's put on such airs and graces since she met him. Hardly seems like the same girl anymore."

He dropped his faux French accent.

"My real name is Henry," he said in a soft Cockney, not unlike her own. "From the east end. But shh." He put a finger to his lips and smiled. "Don't tell anyone. I might lose my clientele."

Jackie smirked, but then laughed. "Where's your salon, Henry?"

"Mayfair."

"Toney…" said Jackie with an impressed smile and raised eyebrow. "I'm living in Chelsea. Sharing a flat with a friend of my daughter's."

Henry again apprised Jackie, scrutinizing her clothing, hair and makeup. "You are a bit of a mystery to me. Usually I can peg people. But you seem out of place somehow, like you don't belong."

Nervously, Jackie squirmed. "Really? Just little old me. Just Ginger. Nothing mysterious about me. Not one thing," she rambled, while she lifted her empty glass for the barkeep, asking for a second pint.

"You live in Chelsea. That's a rather nice neighborhood. You're wearing haute couture. Lovely suit by the way. _Givenchy_?" He pronounced the designer's name perfectly. "But your shoes are atrocious. You aren't wearing an expensive wedding ring, so you didn't marry into money. Your accent is decidedly common…" he grinned devilishly, "…like mine. Your hair is a disaster, but we've already established that, haven't we? Hairdressers and doctors, both the same. Never take care of themselves," he waved his hand in the air, dismissively.

"My son-in-law gave me the suit along with all of my clothes, but the shoes are perfectly respectable, I'll have you know, and bloody comfortable and I don't like it when my feet hurt. When I was working I always wore trainers… er… plimsols."

"You aren't working now?" asked Henry.

"Just got here less than two weeks ago. Haven't had a chance to look for employment yet. My son-in-law said he'd take care of everything, that I didn't need to work, but I'm going barmy in that flat with nothing to do all day. A person can only listen to so many radio plays, y'know."

"I come down to this pub because I can be myself… almost," he said with a wicked grin. How did you find this place? It's a bit far from Chelsea."

"A friend told me about it. He said I might feel more at home here. It's not like I don't like Chelsea, but it's just a bit… posh, you know? I'm used to my flat back home, with my mismatched dishes, my knickknacks and not having to worry about breaking some three hundred year old vase or spilling my tea on the Persian rug."

"I think, Ginger Powell, that we will be great friends, you and me." Henry lifted his glass and Jackie followed suit.

"Cheers," she said with a smile.

oOo

Rose didn't call her mother on Saturday. She didn't call her on Sunday.

"I never knew you Tyler women could be so stubborn," the Doctor said on Monday morning as he slipped on John Smith's charcoal suit, a skinny silver tie and finely made white shirt.

"Learn something new everyday, I suppose," she said dismissively, not wanting to think about the situation with her mother.

The Doctor sighed. He did not want to push Rose to do something she did not want to do, but at some point, Jackie did need to know about their daily transformation into John and Jane. He decided to tell her that evening, in person. Rose was going to be out celebrating Bess's hen night with a bunch of giggling women anyway, so tonight would be the perfect opportunity.

"Ready to become Jane?" he asked when he saw that she was finished dressing into a cheerful yellow dress.

"Yeah. Go ahead." Rose faced the Doctor, and then closed her eyes.

They held their hands, and brought them up close between them and kissed. It was their new ritual. Their first moment every morning as John and Jane began with a kiss.

"Mmmm, that was nice," said John as he pulled away from Jane. "Do we really have to go to work? I can think of some things that I'd much rather be doing right now."

"You're insatiable, John Smith," Jane teased flirtatiously.

"Aye." He kissed her quickly, one more time. "What's wrong?" he asked as an odd look came across her face.

"Scuse me… gotta…" Jane ran into the en suite and threw up into the toilet.

John was now growing concerned. She'd been sick every day since Friday. "That's it, I'm taking you to the doctor. This is not food poisoning. You have the flu, and I think you're becoming dehydrated. Your color isn't right."

"I'm…I'm fine now," Jane replied weakly from the bathroom.

John heard the water in the sink running as Jane rinsed out her mouth. "I won't take no for an answer, Jane Smith. You need to be seen. Today. Who is your physician? I'll call him myself and get you an appointment if you won't."

"I don't have one. I never get sick," she replied as she returned into their bedroom.

"Then I'm going to call Bess and get a recommendation." John picked up the phone and dialed Prescott Publishing, knowing that Bess would already be at work.

oOo

Bess sat at her desk with a happy grin on her face. She had just finished reading the final draft of chapter two of _Blame It On Barcelona_. "Now _that_ is how it's done," she said to herself. The phone rang, and she picked up the black receiver.

"Bess Cooper," she answered.

"Bess, it's John. I'm worried about Jane. She's been nauseated off and on for a week now. She doesn't have a regular physician. Do you have the name of someone she could see?"

Bess drew in a long breath and blew it back out. She knew that this moment would come, and now that it had arrived, she wasn't sure what she do. The Doctor had not given her any instruction how to bring he and Rose out of their John and Jane personae, so she had to treat them as John at Jane.

"You there Bess?" asked John.

"Sorry, I'm…I'm thinking about who I think would be good for Jane," she said.

The room began to spin, and then Bess heard the ringing in her ears that signaled she was about to have one of her '_episodes_.' She saw Jane in a hospital bed. John was standing by her, and a tall woman in a white physician's smock was asking her questions. Bess could see her name, embroidered in blue, on the coat.

"Dr. Lambert. She should see Dr. Lambert."

"Alright. Do you have her phone number?" asked John.

"I need to find it. Are you home?"

"Yes," replied John.

"I will call you back with the telephone number."

Bess rang off and immediately called Niles.

"Hi Muffin, it's Bootsie. We have a problem…"

Bess explained the situation in general terms, knowing enough about Torchwood that she shouldn't give specifics such as names in case the telephone lines were being monitored. Niles knew about the daily appearance of John and Jane, but he hadn't really anticipated Jane not knowing of Rose's pregnancy. "Just a minute, let me transfer you to Jack. He knows the folks over at Royal Hope better than I," Niles replied.

Jack took over the call. "Hey Bess. What's up?"

"Our…visiting _friend_ is experiencing significant morning sickness, but of course, she doesn't know she is pregnant. Her husband thinks it's just the flu, but wants to take her to the doctor, and of course, I can't tell him to not take her, because he would become suspicious, so we need a doctor that we can trust. Quick. Someone discreet."

"Slow down, Bess. It's going to be okay. I know exactly the right person. Marg—"

"Margaret Lambert?" she interrupted.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Jack asked.

"Spooky Bess made an appearance a couple of minutes ago."

Jack chuckled. "We really need to bring you in and get you some proper training. I could really use you on a couple of cases…"

"Well I can't leave Prescott until this company is back on its feet, Jack, you know that. It wouldn't be right. All of these people are counting on me."

"I understand, Bess, I'm just saying that—"

"Jack, you're going off topic… Our _special friends_? _Remember_?" she said, bringing him back on track.

"Sorry, Bess. I'll go over and talk to Dr. Lambert. Do you think you could come over, too?"

Bess agreed.

"Great. Tell our _special friends_ to meet us at Royal Hope in an hour."

oOo

"Why are we going to hospital? I'm not _that_ sick," asked Jane.

"Bess said this doctor was fantastic, and she wouldn't trust you to anyone else."

"That's awfully sweet of her. What's the doctor's name?"

"Dr. Lambert."

"Why is that name familiar?" asked Jane, looking out the window in thought.

"Dunno. Does sound familiar, though."

John found a parking space with which he was satisfied, and they left his beloved car to make their way into the hospital.

oOo

Margaret couldn't believe her eyes. The blood test did not lie. Jane Smith was pregnant, and the hormone levels in her blood indicated that she was two months gone. She had examined the woman after her kidnapping, and it had been indisputable that she had never engaged in intercourse. It had been less than three weeks since that examination.

The doctor knew that a woman shouldn't even suspect that she is pregnant for another two weeks, and that a test should not be able to pick up a pregnancy so early. The only reason she could determine the pregnancy and gestation age was because of the specialized, Torchwood provided equipment in her private lab.

Jack had acted very oddly when he approached her about the patient. He had said that there may be odd readings on the lab tests, and had made her swear that she would not report any anomalies to Torchwood until she had spoken with him first. Odd readings didn't begin to describe what she was seeing under the microscope. She needed to speak with Jack. Now.

* * *

Things are becoming more and more complicated, aren't they? Will the Doctor and Rose be able to continue juggling two lives? Will Jackie be able to keep it together? Will Bess ever be able to leave Prescott Publishing? Can Dr. Lambert be trusted?


	14. Daddy Issues

**Found & Revisited**  
**Chapter 13 - Daddy Issues**

* * *

The physician took off her reading glasses and firmly pressed the palms of her hands into her fatigued eyes. Less than three weeks ago, Jane Smith had not only _not_ been pregnant, but the physical evidence had pointed to the fact that the young woman had never even engaged in sexual intercourse, a fact corroborated by Jane herself. But here she was, sitting down the hall on an examination table, waiting on Dr. Margaret Lambert to return with the reason she had been feeling poorly for a week.

Dr. Lambert knew that her employment with Torchwood demanded that a report be filed outlining the anomalous findings. She was duty-bound to contact the Director of Medical Section. Torchwood would certainly be interested to know how in the world a woman who had only engaged in intercourse for the first time just two or three weeks before, had hormone levels indicating she was ten _weeks_ pregnant.

Margaret thought about her options. She could report the findings immediately, as was required; she could hold back the news for a while and see how the pregnancy progressed; or she could keep it a secret, both from her patient and Torchwood, as Jack Harkness had oddly requested. He had warned her that the results might be unusual. She would have to have a talk with Mr. Harkness about the definition of the word, _unusual_.

She weighed the risks: if she did not report to Torchwood, not only would her job be in jeopardy, her career as a physician would be threatened as well. It was rumored that _The Powers That Be_ did not take kindly to those who stepped outside of their boundaries.

But this case felt different. The woman in that exam room down the hall was not just an anonymous face. She was Jane Smith, Dr. Lambert's very own patient, a woman whom she had treated after a very traumatic kidnapping.

When Harkness had approached her earlier that day, she had wondered why Jane Smith would even register on the Torchwood radar. She started to put two and two together. Niles Eddington had been treated by her Torchwood Medical Section colleague, neurologist Dr. Sol Weissman. Niles was the fiancé of Jane Smith's best friend. Had Jane somehow been under Niles and Jack's protection when Niles had been injured? Had the rescue of the woman from her captor been part of some larger operation? Jack had always proven trustworthy, even if he was a bit forward. Sol trusted him implicitly, and that spoke volumes to Margaret. Dr. Weissman's trust was not easily won.

Margaret Lambert stood up from her desk and slipped a fresh white coat on over her dark suit. She picked up her report and looked it over one more time. She opened her drawer, placed it inside, and locked the drawer.

She had made her decision.

oOo

I believe you have contracted influenza, Mrs. Smith. It's a little bit late in the year for the flu, but...that would be my best educated guess. It has been a particularly virulent strain this year. Expect to feel poorly for several more weeks. I can give you something for the nausea."

"Thank you, Dr. Lambert." Jane adjusted her position on the exam table, crossing her arms in front of her stomach protectively. "Am I contagious? I don't want John to get this. He has a book to finish."

"You have no fever, and this has been going on for how long now? A week?"

Jane nodded.

"Then no. You are not contagious. Now make sure you stay hydrated, and get as much rest as you can. You know, I think I recall prescribing three full weeks away from work the last time you were in my care." Dr. Lambert looked at her patient with raised eyebrows of admonishment, but then softened her face. "You did go through quite an ordeal Jane."

Jane looked away, feeling somewhat sheepish, not wanting to answer. She turned back to the physician and sighed.

"I do understand that your situation was...urgent, and I am happy that you and John were able to push your wedding up. You are genuinely happy with John, that is obvious. But Jane, how you are doing emotionally? You didn't really give yourself time to recover emotionally, what with the wedding, and jumping right back into work..."

"I am brilliant. I couldn't be happier," Jane answered, truthfully.

"Of course you are happy with _John_. But how are you feeling about what happened? Being kidnapped, and very nearly raped?" pressed the kindly physician.

Jane drew in a breath and released it slowly. "But I wasn't. John rescued me, and Daniel - the man who did that - he is in custody. I'm not in danger anymore." Rose shook her head to emphasize her point. A stray lock fell from her hairdo, and Rose tucked it behind her ear.

"You haven't answered my question. How do you feel about it?"

It was clear to Jane that her doctor was not going to give up without an answer. "Relieved."

"What else?"

Jane looked down at her hands, and picked at fresh coat of coral nail varnish. "Embarrassed..." said Jane before clearing her throat nervously.

"Why do you feel embarrassed?" asked Dr. Lambert, curious as to the reasoning behind Jane's admission.

"I guess because what Daniel did put me in the spotlight...in a really, really uncomfortable way. The things he threatened to do to me were so _very_ private, and here I was, so...naive and..._innocent_..." She looked into Dr. Lambert's eyes. "I'm sure no one believes _that_ anymore. They probably think I flirted with Daniel or led him on... or seduced John."

"John knows you did none of those things. Your true friends know that as well, Jane. And most important, _you_ know the truth. Isn't that what counts?" Dr. Lambert asked kindly.

"But it was my reputation. Everyone at the office knows what he did to me, what he threatened to do, too. People look at me funny when I walk by them now. I'm sure they are whispering about me around the water cooler and over their tea cups. Part of me doesn't care, but...part of me really, really hates it. I mean, what they must think of me _already_...marrying John _so_ quickly, and Daniel disappearing along with Eve and Jim and Priscilla... Eve and Jim were lovely people, and...and...I am probably responsible for their...d...deaths. They have never been found." Jane swallowed hard. It was the first time she had uttered these deeply buried feelings out loud. She had not even spoken with John about these things.

Margaret placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "None of this was your fault, Jane Smith."

"Jane..." John said her name quietly as he walked into the examination room holding a cup of tea he had been sent to fetch for his wife. He had been standing outside of the door for quite a while.

Jane's head swivelled to see her husband standing in the doorway, worry and surprise written on his face.

"Why haven't you told me any of this?" asked John as he entered slowly, still holding the cup of tea.

"Is that my tea?" asked Jane, subtly indicating her eyes towards the cup of Earl Grey.

"Course," he replied as he handed it to her. "Jane, why didn't you tell me this?" he immediately asked a second time. "I thought you were-"

Dr. Lambert saw an opportunity. "Jane," she interrupted, "do you think, perhaps, it is possible that you are feeling nauseated from anxiety? Perhaps it isn't the flu at all?"

"She has not had any coughing or other flu symptoms," John was quick to report.

"So you're saying it is all in my head, aren't you?" There was a hint of that same fire in her eyes that had been directed at John when Jane had been led to believe he was already married.

Dr. Lambert shook her head. "Absolutely not. The body has coping mechanisms, Jane. When you hold worry inside, when you don't share your pain, your body has to deal with it somehow. In your case, I am starting to believe that you are making yourself ill." The woman was not lying this time. While some of the nausea was likely from this mysteriously progressing pregnancy, it was plausible that it could also be anxiety-related.

John leaned up against the examination table next to her. He put an arm around his wife's shoulder and pulled her close. Jane dropped her head onto his shoulder and sighed.

"Well, now we know, and we will get you through it...together." John kissed the top of her head. "Blimey, I think I'm a bit disappointed," he said, trying to diffuse the tension. "For a while there, I was thinking you might be pregnant already."

Pink flushed across Jane's cheeks, and she turned her face into her husband's shoulder, smiling into the fine wool of his charcoal suit.

Dr. Lambert laughed nervously. "Well it is too soon for that to happen, you two. It's only been, what, fourteen days since you were married?" she managed to say, averting her eyes from the couple's, as she looked down at the prescription pad she was pulling out of her pocket. In elegant, flowing handwriting, she wrote on the pad. "This is a prescription for a little something for the nausea. It is very mild, and you can take it as often as you like. The second sheet gives you the name of the pharmacy I want you to take it to. Only use this pharmacy. I don't really trust any other. It's the best in London." She handed Jane the two sheets of paper.

"Thanks Dr. Lambert."

"I'll leave you to get dressed, and then you can are free to go. I want to see you again one week from today. Same time."

Jane nodded, and the physician took her leave. She slid off of the table, and turned into John's embrace.

"People have been talking at work, eh?" he asked her. "Tell me who, and I will set them straight."

"You don't need to do that. I can take care of myself." She pulled away, and reached for her clothing.

John motioned for her to turn her back to him, and he untied the strings of her examination gown. "Oh, if there is one thing I know Jane Smith, it is that you can take care of yourself. But maybe I want to. I was a part of this too, you know. Maybe I need to make myself feel at peace about it, too."

Jane turned and faced him again, the gown hanging loosely on her shoulders, threatening to fall off completely. She knitted her eyebrows together. "I never stopped to think about you in all of this." She cupped his cheek, went up on tiptoe and kissed him sweetly on the lips.

"Like I said before, we'll face this together."

"Together," she agreed with a soft smile.

oOo

"Infinity Man, please," Dr. Lambert asked the Torchwood employee on the other end of the secure telephone line.

"He's out with Boyscout. Can I give him a message?"

"Tell him Bookworm has seen our mutual friend, and our friend will be fine. But I need to talk to him ASAP."

"Will do, Book. Hey, by the way, I've been having his pain in my left hip-"

"No telephone consults, you know that," she said with a small laugh.

"Right. Sorry," the man added, self consciously.

oOo

A sensual tune with a gentle bossa nova rhythm played on the hi-fi as the late afternoon sunlight came through the floor-to-ceiling windows of John and Jane's flat.

John lay on the black leather sofa, one leg on the floor. Jane leaned up against his chest, stretched out between his legs. She relaxed her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, relaxing into his touch. His fingers caressed a bit of skin exposed by the gap between her green pullover and the waistband of her toreador trousers.

His eyes, too, were closed as he daydreamed of the life that he hoped one day would be safe within her womb, beneath the very spot where his fingers were now dancing. Lazily, Jane snaked her arm up over her head. She pushed her fingers into John's hair. She ruffled and played with the silky soft strands, then lightly scratched his scalp until he was purring, perfectly content.

The clock on the mantel chimed six o'clock, and almost without incident, the consciousnesses of John and Jane traded places with those of the Doctor and Rose.

"Hiya Doctor," said Rose with a smile in her voice. She withdrew her fingers from his hair, turned around, and sat back on her heels. She leaned forward and kissed her husband fully on the lips, as was their now daily "wake-up" ritual.

"Hello, love," he replied into her mouth, with an equally large grin. "How are you feeling?" He pulled her close.

"Good. I'm feeling...good. So, how long do you think Dr. Lambert is going to be able to keep the pregnancy a secret from Jane and John? At some point, I am going to start getting suspicious when my trousers and skirts don't fit anymore."

"The way those two can't keep their hands off each other, I think it will cross their minds sooner rather than later." The Doctor half smiled in that sexy way that set Rose on fire.

"Speaking of hands...and keeping off...or rather..._not_..." Rose said coyly as she stood from the sofa. She extended her hand to her husband. "Would you care to not keep your hands off of me, Doctor?"

The Doctor sprang from his relaxed position on the black leather, scooped his wife into his arms, and carried her off into their bedroom.

oOo

"Well if it isn't the lovely Ginger Powell!" The man who owned the exclusive _Salon Henri _kissed Jackie Tyler in greeting, continental style, once on each cheek, even though he spoke in his native East London accent, as he had the last time they met.

"Hello Henry," greeted Jackie without pretense, pronouncing his name with a hard H and putting as much emphasis on the first syllable as possible. She took a sip of her ale and set it back onto the wooden bar.

Henry swivelled on his stool to so that he was facing Jackie. "Ginger, a frown is not becoming. You will develop wrinkles in the wrong places. Laugh lines are beautiful. But frown lines? _Non_."

"I'm sure I already have wrinkles as deep as the Grand Canyon, no thanks to _her_," she replied. Jackie lifted her pint, and mockingly toasting her troubles.

The barkeep took Henry's order and scuttled away from the pair to draw Henry's ale from the tap.

Jackie had become increasingly touchy and short-tempered over the past week. She and her daughter had yet to reconcile after the serious argument they had at Henrik's the week prior. They had not even spoken. It seemed that lines had been drawn, and it was going to take some doing to pull the women out of their respective foxholes.

"I hope things look up for you soon," the trim, elegant man said genuinely. "I know what you need. You need a cheer up. And you know what cheers up a woman more than almost anything?" he asked, leaning close to Jackie, his voice rumbling darkly.

"You tryin' to pull me Henry? 'Cos you ain't gettin' nowhere," she warned.

Henry chuckled briefly. "_Non, mon cheri_," he said, slipping back into his affected, faux French accent. "I do not excel in that particular..." he rolled his hand as he thought for the proper word, "skill. I want to do your hair and makeup. I want to bring out your inner Venus!"

"Oh! A makeover! That sounds fun. But are you any good? I don't let _anyone_ touch my hair who isn't good," said Jackie sternly.

Henri raised his eyebrows, as he looked at Jackie's teased, dry-as-straw hair. "I will show you _good_. Come with me to my shop, and I will make you into a goddess descended down from Mount Olympus itself!"

"I'm not coming with you to your shop at nine o'clock at night, no matter how uninterested you are in female companionship, Henry. It isn't proper!" lectured Jackie, slipping into what she imagined would be a 1964 persona.

Henri pulled out a business card and pressed it into her hand, folding her fingers over it. "I don't like to see women upset. It's my passion to make beautiful women even more beautiful. Stop by. No appointment necessary. I am always there, cheri."

Jackie frowned and unconsciously cupped the back of her head, feeling the stiffness of the lacquer holding her beehive hairdo in place. The strands were unpleasantly sticky to her fingertips. "Yeah, well maybe I will. At a decent hour, though," she said, wagging a finger at the hairdresser.

"Understood. Now Ginger, what is the problem? Tell me. You can trust Henri."

Jackie dragged in a breath and released it slowly through puffed cheeks. I'm still rowing with my daughter, and I miss her." Jackie shrugged her shoulders in resignation.

"Is the argument over something worth holding your ground?"

"Yes...no...I don't know. It's a bit...messy and complicated, really." Jackie took another sip of her drink.

"It usually is, isn't it?" The barkeep set Henry's drink in front of the man with a mumble.

"I think I'm going to go home and call my daughter. See ya 'round, Henry." Jackie slid off of the stool and left the pub without another word.

oOo

Jack Harkness sat on the cement bench - waiting - looking out over the duck pond across the path. Light from the street lamps lining the meandering pathway bounced off of the calm water, and cast a soft glow into the gazebo where Jack sat.

This place, within walking distance of Torchwood's London headquarters, was a safe zone to discuss those things which he did not want ever-present Torchwood ears to hear. He and Niles spent much time at The Bench, as it was known to them.

Tonight, he was waiting for someone other than Niles, and he expected her to arrive at any moment. Jack knew exactly what Dr. Margaret Lambert wanted to discuss, but he was still trying to determine how much information he could share. The Doctor had agreed that Rose needed a physician's care and he needed access to advanced medical equipment, now that the medical facilities within the TARDIS were unavailable.

"Dr. Lambert, you look lovely in the moonlight."

"That isn't moonlight, it's a street lamp, and save the charm for someone your own age, Harkness," replied Dr. Lambert, though not unkindly, if the small smile on her lips was any indication.

Jack patted the bench, and Dr. Lambert sat down, firmly clutching her purse on her lap.

"So what did you wanna talk about?" Jack asked.

"Jane Smith."

"No surprise there," he replied cockily.

"You said that I should not to be surprised if my tests returned unusual results. That was a bit of an understatement. She is expecting," Dr. Lambert said plainly.

"Babies aren't unusual," Jack replied with a wink.

"I wish to be...delicate in order to preserve Mrs. Smith's...reputation."

"We're both adult, and not much shocks me, Maggie."

Margaret scowled and rolled her eyes at the nickname. "Margaret will do." She cleared her throat and straightened her back rigidly. "Mrs. Smith is much further along that she should be, given her previous..._disposition_ when last I examined her."

Jack half smiled and looked out over the pond. The human propensity for nervousness when discussing sexuality in this part of the 20th century made him chuckle.

"You mean she had never been with a man before, right?" Jack decided it would be best to continue this discussion using terminology appropriate for the morality of 1964.

Dr. Lambert again cleared her throat. "Yes, Mr. Harkness, that is correct. While it is possible for the appearance of virginity to be maintained after intercourse has taken place, it is my professional medical opinion that Jane Smith had never engaged in the act of sexual intercourse before I examined her on the night of her kidnapping. So the fact that her hormone levels indicate she is well over ten weeks gone is alarming, to be sure. I should not yet even be able to determine that she is pregnant, considering she has only been sexually active since the night of her wedding, per her report, which I have no reason to not believe. Even with my special, advanced equipment, I should not be able to determine that she is pregnant for another two weeks."

They were both quiet for a moment. Jack knew that the fast progression of the pregnancy was due to the uniqueness of both the Doctor's Gallifreyan traits, and Rose's altered physiology, but Dr. Lambert did not need to know this yet, if at all.

"Yet you knew she was pregnant, didn't you?" asked the woman pointedly. "And you don't want Jane to know she is pregnant because it will frighten her, and potentially harm her reputation, or worse, cause her husband to question her virtue, am I right?"

"Yeah." Jack sat still as he thought of a quick, and plausible explanation. "This is the thing, Margaret. Jane was exposed to something...alien..." _And it ain't even a lie! _Jack thought to himself.

"I see," Margaret replied simply.

"Her best friend Bess knows what sort of things we deal with at Torchwood. And when she saw Jane's symptoms, she was concerned that..." Jack strained to think on the fly. "Bess was concerned that perhaps the same...entity that hurt Niles may have...altered Jane somehow, and...perhaps sped along a new pregnancy." Jack smiled, rather pleased with himself, and the lie he had just spun.

Dr. Lambert nodded sagely. "Well, I'm less worried about her reputation than I am about the impossibility of the progression of this pregnancy. I have no experience whatsoever dealing with this sort of thing, but she will need close monitoring, and at some point, she is going to know that she is pregnant. I suppose the best thing for her psychologically would be to let her figure it out on her own."

"I knew I could count on you, Margaret." Jack thrust out his hand, and Margaret shook it heartily.

"Now why don't you want this reported to Torchwood?" she asked.

"Jane and John are good friends of mine, Margaret... the best. And Jane has been through so very much already. Bringing a full Torchwood investigation into this would be traumatic for her, don't you think?" he asked, hoping that Dr. Lambert's knowledge of how trauma impacted victims would cause her to see things his way.

"I think that is wise." She paused. "For now."

Jack stood up and squared his shoulders. "Fair enough. May I walk you to your car? Never know what sort of dangerous people are out and about at this time of night."

"Is that a warning about yourself, Harkness? I've heard about your reputation," she teased.

"Touche'. Uh, Margaret, would you care to get a drink?" asked Jack with a glint in his eye.

Dr. Lambert rolled her eyes like a sixteen year old and guffawed. "You're having me on, right?"

oOo

After their early evening liaison, the Doctor and Rose ate dinner, and then played a game Floovian Rummy, the rules of which Rose never did quite understand. After the game of cards, they returned to bed, this time to sleep. The Doctor had been sleeping regularly since his connection to the TARDIS had been severely diminished, and sleep, especially while in Rose's arms, was more than simple comfort. It provided true rest and relief from the emptiness in his mind.

Both were awakened by the ringing of Rose's mobile phone. With her eyes still closed, Rose felt for the mobile which was chirping and vibrating on her bedside table.

It was her mother's ringtone.

Rose opened her eyes and stared at the screen while it continued to chirp and buzz in her hand.

"You gonna get that or am I gonna have to listen to Baby Spice keep singing _Mama_?" the Doctor asked sleepily into his pillow.

Rose pressed a button with her thumb, and slowly drew it to her ear. "Hey Mum, everything alright? It's kinda late..."

"_Hello Sweetheart. I...I...I want you to know how sorry I am, and that I will never let anything like that happen again. I know how serious the situation was, and I don't think I could bear the thought of losing my grandson, or you and the Doctor losing your baby."_

Rose felt her eyes stinging. "Ah...thanks Mum. I really, really appreciate that, and I accept your apology, and I'm so sorry I yelled at you like that. I've missed you so much, and I don't wanna not be talking with you like this ever again."

The Doctor was now wide awake, and laying on his back, one arm behind his head, his other, reaching for Rose's hand.

"Why don't you come 'round to the office tomorrow? We'll have lunch. Just you 'n me?"

"I'd love that, Rose," replied Jackie quietly.

After the conversation, Rose mentally shared her relief with her husband, then quickly fell into a deep, restful and peaceful sleep, within her husband's comforting embrace.

oOo

John and Jane sat side by side on the orange sofa in their office. The outline of chapter four of _Blame it on Barcelona _was quickly materializing between giggles and stolen kisses.

"...you _know_ the Professor is not going to sit still and blindly follow a tour guide through the castle," said Jane, elbowing her husband in the side.

"Of course not! Why would he subject himself and Iris to a dry, boring, memorized speech? The accuracy of the history would be shady at best. Besides, don't you think he would want to give Iris a much more exciting and _personalized_ tour of the castle."

"Absolutely," cooed Jane.

John leaned in and kissed his wife, first caressing her lips, and then pulling and tugging them with his teeth. Jane giggled into his mouth before pulling away. He moved his attentions to her collarbone, pushing the neck of her cashmere pullover aside so that the mark he intended to leave would be hidden to the rest of the office.

"You," she gasped when he sucked hard, then massaged the bruise with his tongue, "darling husband... You are wandering into dangerous territory." Physical need for more was surging to her core, and her toes were tingling in her Bruno Magli sling backs.

"Door's locked." He kissed her throat. "I don't have any appointments." He moved his lips to her wrist. "It's nearly lunchtime, and I think I am planning on _eating in_." John's eyes were dark and shining, and his rate of breathing had increased. "How about a little game of swinging bachelor boss and shy typist?

"That..." Jane swallowed hard. "That sounds delicious."

"And you are so very delicious. I want to devour you." John's nimble fingers wandered under her pullover.

"Can you be quiet? You're rather loud, John," charged Jane quietly. She arched her chest into his palm, as she began to push her own hands under his waistband.

"Aye, that I can be, if I set my mind to it."

The black telephone in John's desk rang, interrupting their growing ardor. They jumped away from each other, as if somehow, the person on the other end of the line would know what they were doing. Both stifled a frustrated laugh, as Jane hurried across the carpet to answer.

"John Smith's office."

"Hi Jane, your friend Ginger is here for your luncheon appointment."

Jane shook the fog from her head, and Rose returned to the fore, triggered back to reality by the telephone call. Rose cleared her throat. "Thanks Barbara," she said, doing her best to approximate Jane's speech pattern. "Would you please tell her I will be right out?" She placed the receiver in the cradle and returned to John's side. "Mum is here, Doctor."

John blinked a few times before the Doctor's grin took over his face. "Hello."

"Hello."

They kissed briefly.

"Looks like our lunch plans have been sidelined," said Rose, remorsefuly.

"There is _always_ this afternoon... Or we could work late. Do you fancy fish and chips and Coca-Cola Miss Smith? You could wait here for me, hiding out in my office... I have so much work that needs to be done, and I am in desperate need of your particular talents."

"I'd be happy to help you Mr. Smith, but you have to know that I am a very, very good girl, and I will not stand for any monkey business. I have a reputation to uphold, you know," teased Rose, recalling a conversation they had shared nearly a month ago, the night that she helped John out of his writing bind. "Lemme go get Mum."

Rose stepped out of their office, and returned with Jackie in tow. Rose closed the door behind her. "Well, here we are. John's office. What do you think?" Rose asked, looking around the room.

"Oh, sweetheart, sod the office. C'mere." Jackie wrapped her arms around Rose and squeezed. Mother rubbed daughter's back, much in the same way as she had when Rose was just a little girl and needed comfort. "I missed you sweetheart."

"I missed you too, Mum."

"And I even missed himself over there," added Jackie, pointing at her son-in-law, who was sitting on the orange sofa at the far end of his office.

"Sit down Jackie, we have something to tell you," said the Doctor as he looked up from the folio in his lap before taking off his glasses. He casually cast aside the final manuscript of chapter two, and it landed on one of the side tables with a soft thud.

Jackie sat in one of the side chairs, and Rose joined her husband on the sofa. The Doctor grasped Rose's hand, and pulled it into his lap.

"Go on then, out with it. I'm hungry, and I bet you don't give Jane here," Jackie said with a wink, "much time for lunch do you?"

"That's one thing we need to talk about with you, Mum, before we go to lunch. But hear us out, okay?" said Rose quietly, knowing the walls of this office were not extremely thick, and it was possible that their conversation could be heard if someone put their mind to it, and stood outside of their door, listening intently.

"Rose and I," began the Doctor as he tugged on one ear. "Rose and I have been coming to work as John and Jane for the past week and changing back at night so that-"

"You've what?" Jackie exclaimed.

"It's helped our writing, Mum. We were completely blocked, and-"

"But what if you get stuck in them? You said it hurt! How can you handle turning human every day? What about the baby? That can't possibly-"

"Jackie, calm down," the Doctor said with surprising self-restraint. "No, we aren't becoming human every morning. We are floating the personalities of John and Jane to the surface, that's all," he said, in the most comforting way possible.

"Oh...well...I guess," Jackie replied. "Well, I'm starving sweetheart. Let's go get a bite. Rose will explain it to me better than you can."

oOo

After lunch, mother and daughter walked through the park across the street from Rose's office building. They followed the same meandering path that Jane had watched John walk along, and ultimately, rescue her future grandmother from a mugger.

"So how are you getting along, Mum?" asked Rose, looping her arm through her mother's.

It was not a gesture common to Rose, but Jackie smiled at the simple touch before she replied. "I'm bored. It's all so dull. None of my programmes are on the telly, and I don't have any friends. Bess is never home, always out with Niles or working. Bess told me I could help with the wedding, but so far she hasn't asked me to do a thing. I think I need to get a job."

As the pair rounded a sharp curve in the path, they nearly ran into a man walking in the opposite direction.

"Pardon me, ladies. Blind curve. Oh! Ginger? Ginger from the pub?" asked the man.

Jackie gasped and did not answer the man. She pulled away from Rose, and nearly tripped over a crack in the pavement as she stepped backwards, out of the man's reach.

"Ain't seen ya down at the pub since that night," he persisted. "Have you been hiding from good old Georgie?" he asked flirtatiously, winking at the nervous blonde.

"I'm sorry, I think you have mistaken me for someone else," Jackie replied. She squared her shoulders and turned to her daughter, careful not to use her name. "Sweetheart, we need to go."

The man reached for Jackie's forearm. "What's your hurry, luv? I'm not gonna hurt ya. Just bein' friendly-like."

"I really don't know you," said Jackie even more firmly than before, not allowing him to touch her.

"Looks like there's something wrong with your pretty friend here, Ginger," stated the tenacious man as he looked at Rose. "You need me to call the sick wagon for ya, darlin'?" he asked, concerned.

Rose knitted her eyebrows together and stared at the sandy-haired, handsome man. Jackie shook Rose's shoulder, knocking Rose out of her reverie.

"Sweetheart, listen to me, we need to go. Now." Jackie grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her away. "We'll be leaving now. Don't follow or I'll call a copper," hissed Jackie.

Jackie and Rose hastily made their way to the building that housed the Prescott Publishing offices. They pushed their way through the heavy glass doors into the marble and wood-panelled lobby. Rose dropped onto a bench and leaned up against the wood-panelled wall.

"You alright?" asked Jackie, sitting down next to her daughter.

"Who was that man?" asked Rose, trying to tamp down the fear that was threatening to creep into her voice.

Jackie's hands shook as she clasped them firmly in her lap. Her face was blanched of all color, except for the rouge, blue eyeshadow and cardinal lipstick she had painted on that morning. "That was my dad. That was your granddad Prentice."

Rose nodded, somehow already knowing who the man was. She cleared her throat. "Mum, when he reached out for you, the baby..." Rose blinked hard. "My baby disappeared. I couldn't feel him Mum. He is back again, but Mum, something is happening...something dangerous. We need the Doctor."

* * *

Thank you for patience, dear readers. I'm sure most of you will have to refresh your memories!


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